Question

In the biolistic method of gene transfer, the micro-particles coated with foreign DNA are bombarded into target cells at a very high velocity. These micro-particles are made up of
A. Silver or Tungsten
B. Arsenic or Silver
C. Gold or Tungsten
D. None of these

Answer 1

Biotransformation is a mechanism through which molecules are transformed from one form to another to reduce the persistence and toxicity of its chemical compounds. This process is supported by a significant range of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi and enzymes.

Complete answer: The biolistic technique of transformation in plants is used for transferring the foreign DNA into a plant cell. For this reason, the plant cells are bombarded with very high-velocity micro-particles made up of gold or tungsten which are coated with DNA. A gene gun or the biolistic particle delivery method is a mechanism which is used in genetic engineering to transfer exogenous DNA (or transgenes), RNA, or proteins to cells. The incorporation of desired genetic material is fired directly into the cell by covering particles of heavy metal with a gene of interest and shooting these micro-projectiles into cells using mechanical energy. Biolistics is also denoted as the procedure concerned with the micro-projectile DNA delivery. This device and method can transform nearly every type of cell and it is not limited to the transformation of the nucleus only; but it can also transform cell organelles, such as the plastids and mitochondria.
So, the correct answer is option C.

Note: Biolistics has proved to be a flexible genetic engineering tool and is mainly used to genetically engineer transformation-resistant crops, such as cereals. Bt maize is a biolistic product. In contrast to other existing methods, such as Agrobacterium induced transformation, plastid transformation has also shown considerable progress with particle bombardment.