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GPAT Biotechnology Flashcards
68 question-and-answer cards covering Biotechnology as it is examined in GPAT. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Biotechnology deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
What is the role of primers in PCR?
Short single-stranded oligonucleotides complementary to the flanking sequences of the target, providing a free 3'-OH end for DNA polymerase to begin synthesis.
What is RT-PCR and how does it differ from standard PCR?
Reverse Transcription PCR first converts RNA into complementary DNA (cDNA) using reverse transcriptase, then amplifies it; standard PCR amplifies DNA directly.
What essential components make up a PCR reaction mixture?
Template DNA, two primers (forward and reverse), Taq DNA polymerase, dNTPs, Mg2+ ions, and buffer.
What is animal cell culture, and what is a primary culture?
Growing animal cells in vitro in a controlled nutrient medium; a primary culture is one started directly from tissue, before the first subculture/passage.
What is a cell line and how does it arise?
A cell population that can be propagated through multiple subcultures (passages); it arises when a primary culture is subcultured for the first time.
Differentiate finite and continuous (immortalized) cell lines.
Finite cell lines have a limited number of divisions then senesce; continuous/immortalized cell lines (e.g., HeLa) can divide indefinitely due to transformation.
What is the difference between adherent and suspension cell cultures?
Adherent (anchorage-dependent) cells grow attached to a surface as a monolayer; suspension cells grow freely floating in the medium.
What is the role of serum (e.g., fetal bovine serum) in cell culture media?
It supplies growth factors, hormones, attachment/spreading factors, and nutrients needed for cell attachment and proliferation.
What is trypsinization in cell culture?
Treatment of adherent cells with the protease trypsin to detach them from the culture surface for subculturing (passaging).
What is contact inhibition in cell culture?
The cessation of cell division and movement when normal cells make contact and form a confluent monolayer; transformed/cancer cells often lose it.
What is a hybridoma and what does it produce?
A cell formed by fusing an antibody-producing B-lymphocyte with a myeloma (cancer) cell; it produces monoclonal antibodies and is immortal.
How is recombinant human insulin produced industrially?
The human insulin gene is cloned and expressed in a host (E. coli or yeast), the protein is produced, then purified; the A and B chains are joined (or proinsulin processed) to form active insulin.
What is Humulin, and why was recombinant insulin a milestone?
Humulin was the first recombinant human insulin (approved 1982), the first FDA-approved genetically engineered therapeutic, replacing animal-derived insulin and avoiding allergic reactions.
How many amino acid chains does insulin have and how are they linked?
Two chains: the A chain (21 amino acids) and B chain (30 amino acids), linked by two interchain disulfide bonds (with one intrachain disulfide in the A chain).
What is a vaccine?
A biological preparation containing an antigen (whole or part of a pathogen) that stimulates the immune system to develop protective immunity and immunological memory against a disease.
Differentiate live attenuated and inactivated (killed) vaccines.
Live attenuated vaccines use weakened but living pathogens (e.g., BCG, oral polio, MMR) giving strong long-lasting immunity; inactivated vaccines use killed pathogens (e.g., Salk polio, rabies) and often need boosters.
What is a recombinant subunit vaccine, with an example?
A vaccine containing a specific antigenic protein produced by recombinant DNA technology rather than the whole pathogen; example: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) vaccine made in yeast.
What is the basic principle of an mRNA vaccine?
It delivers messenger RNA encoding a pathogen antigen (e.g., spike protein) into host cells, which then translate it to produce the antigen and trigger an immune response.
What are the main classes of biotechnology by color coding (red, green, white)?
Red = medical/pharmaceutical biotech; Green = agricultural biotech; White = industrial biotech; (Blue = marine/aquatic biotech).
What is a transgenic organism, with a plant example?
An organism carrying a foreign gene from another species; example: Bt cotton, which expresses the Bacillus thuringiensis crystal (Cry) protein for insect resistance.
What is Agrobacterium tumefaciens used for in plant biotechnology?
As a natural genetic engineer; its Ti plasmid transfers T-DNA into plant cells, exploited to introduce desired genes for creating transgenic plants.
What is gene therapy?
A technique that treats or prevents disease by introducing, correcting, or replacing a defective gene in a patient's cells (somatic or, theoretically, germline).
What are monoclonal antibodies and one major application?
Identical antibodies produced from a single B-cell clone (via hybridoma technology) that target a single epitope; used in diagnostics, cancer therapy, and pregnancy test kits.
What is Gardasil, and what does it protect against?
Gardasil is a recombinant HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine made from virus-like particles (VLPs) of the L1 capsid protein, protecting against cervical cancer-causing HPV strains.
What this deck covers
The Biotechnology deck follows the GPAT Biotechnology syllabus — 6 chapters and 12 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 11.3 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 159 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Biotechnology flashcards FAQ
How many Biotechnology flashcards are in this GPAT deck?
68 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these GPAT flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 68-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Biotechnology cards cover?
They follow the GPAT Biotechnology syllabus — 6 chapters and 12 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.