Biotechnology and Its Applications Question 2

2. Which of the following is true for Golden rice?

[2019]

(a) It is vitamin $A$ enriched, with a gene from daffodil.

(b) It is pest resistant, with a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis.

(c) It is drought tolerant, developed using Agrobacterium vector.

(d) It has yellow grains, because of a gene introduced from a primitive variety of rice.

Show Answer

Answer : a

Hints & Solutions

(a) Golden rice is a form of rice with biosynthesis of beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A) which gives its golden or yellow colouring. It is considered a type of genetically modified rice (GMO) and a fortified food that is produced to combat a vitamin A deficiency in areas where this vitamin is scarce. It was in the late 1990s that two European scientists developed Golden Rice after inserting beta carotene-enriched rice gene from daffodil to rice.