Q.Why has the Indian Government set up the organisation named GEAC ? Give any two reasons.
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🔒 Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Part (a)Concept understanding — Genetically Modified Organisms
Imagine you have a recipe for a simple sponge cake. Now, suppose you want that cake to also have chocolate chips inside it. You wouldn't throw away the original recipe and start from scratch. Instead, you would take the basic cake batter and deliberately add chocolate chips to it. You have modified the original recipe to give it a new, useful property.
A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) works on the same principle, but instead of adding chocolate chips to batter, scientists add a specific gene (a tiny instruction manual inside a living cell) from one organism into the DNA of another organism. The result is a living thing — a plant, animal, or microbe — whose genetic material has been artificially altered in a way that does not occur naturally through mating or natural recombination.
The key word here is deliberate. GMOs are not the same as the natural evolution or selective breeding that farmers have done for thousands of years (like breeding wolves into dogs). Selective breeding mixes thousands of genes at once, like shuffling two entire decks of cards. Genetic modification is like taking a single, specific card from one deck and inserting it into a specific spot in another deck.
How does it actually work? (The core idea)
Every living thing — from a bacterium to a mango tree to a human — carries its hereditary information in a molecule called DNA. A gene is a specific segment of that DNA that contains the instructions for making one particular protein. That protein then gives the organism a particular trait, like the colour of a flower or the ability to resist a pest.
In genetic modification, scientists:
- Identify a useful gene from one organism (say, a gene from a soil bacterium that makes a protein toxic to certain insects).
- Isolate that gene and copy it.
- Insert that gene into the DNA of a different organism (say, a cotton plant).
- The cotton plant now reads that new gene and starts producing the insect-killing protein. The cotton plant has been genetically modified to be pest-resistant.
Why does this matter? (The real-world significance)
GMOs are not just a lab curiosity. They are a major part of modern agriculture and medicine. The NCERT textbook highlights two main areas where this technology has had a huge impact:
1. Agriculture: Making crops more useful
The most common GMOs you will encounter are crop plants. The goal is usually to give the plant a new, valuable trait without having to breed it for many generations.
- Pest resistance (Bt crops): A gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is inserted into crops like cotton and corn. This gene produces a protein that kills specific insect pests (like the cotton bollworm). The plant protects itself, so farmers need to spray fewer chemical pesticides.
- Herbicide tolerance: Some crops are modified to be resistant to a specific weed-killer (herbicide). This allows farmers to spray the herbicide to kill weeds without harming the crop itself.
- Increased nutritional value: A famous example is Golden Rice, which is genetically modified to produce beta-carotene (which the body converts to Vitamin A). This was developed to address Vitamin A deficiency in regions where rice is a staple food.
The NCERT textbook specifically mentions Bt cotton as a major success story in India. It has been widely adopted by farmers because it reduces the need for pesticides and can lead to higher yields. However, it also raises important questions about cost, seed patents, and long-term effects on soil and biodiversity — issues that are debated in economics and environmental studies.
2. Medicine: Producing life-saving drugs
This is where GMOs have had an arguably even more profound impact. Instead of modifying whole plants, scientists often modify microorganisms like bacteria or yeast to act as tiny factories.
- Human Insulin (Humulin): Before GMOs, people with diabetes used insulin from cows or pigs, which could cause allergic reactions. Scientists inserted the human gene for insulin into E. coli bacteria. The bacteria then multiplied and produced large quantities of pure human insulin. This was the first-ever commercial GMO product approved for human use.
- Vaccines and other proteins: Many modern vaccines (like the Hepatitis B vaccine) and other therapeutic proteins are now produced using genetically modified yeast or animal cells. This is safer, cheaper, and more scalable than extracting them from human or animal tissues.
A balanced perspective (What you should know) …
Part (b)Concept understanding — Recombinant Protein Therapeutics
Imagine you need a specific medicine—say, insulin for diabetes—but the only way to get it used to be from the pancreas of cows or pigs. That was expensive, risky (animal proteins could trigger allergies), and never quite identical to human insulin. Now, we can take the human gene that makes insulin, put it into a harmless bacterium or yeast, and let that microbe churn out perfect human insulin in huge vats. That is the core idea of recombinant protein therapeutics.
Recombinant means "made by combining DNA from different sources." Protein therapeutics means "a protein used as a medicine." So, recombinant protein therapeutics are medicines that are proteins, made by genetically engineered living cells, to treat or prevent disease.
The NCERT textbook (Class 12 Biology, Chapter 12, Biotechnology and its Applications) introduces this under "Biotechnological Applications in Medicine." It specifically mentions human insulin (Humulin) as the first recombinant therapeutic approved for human use. The textbook explains that the human insulin gene was inserted into E. coli bacteria, which then produced insulin identical to our own.
How does it work, step by step?
- Identify the gene that codes for the therapeutic protein (e.g., the gene for human insulin, growth hormone, or clotting factor).
- Insert that gene into a "vector" (a carrier DNA, often a plasmid from a bacterium) using restriction enzymes and DNA ligase.
- Introduce the vector into a host cell (usually E. coli bacteria, yeast, or mammalian cells). This host cell is now "transformed" – it carries the human gene.
- Grow the host cells in large fermenters. As they multiply, they follow the human gene's instructions and produce the human protein.
- Purify the protein from the culture. The final product is a pure, human-identical therapeutic protein, free from animal contaminants.
Why does this matter? (The "why" for a commerce/humanities student)
- Safety and Efficacy: Because the protein is exactly human, the body rarely rejects it. No risk of animal viruses or allergic reactions to animal proteins.
- Scalability: You can produce massive quantities in a lab, independent of animal supply. One batch of engineered bacteria can make more insulin in a day than thousands of pig pancreases.
- Cost (eventually): While initial R&D is expensive, mass production drives down cost, making life-saving drugs accessible to more people.
- New Treatments: It enables therapies that were impossible before—like monoclonal antibodies for cancer, or erythropoietin for anaemia in kidney patients.
The NCERT textbook emphasises that recombinant therapeutics are "relatively free from risk of infection and immune response" compared to products extracted from animals or human cadavers. This is the single biggest advantage: purity and human compatibility.
Examples you should know (from NCERT and common knowledge) …
Part (a)
GEAC = Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (under the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change). Two reasons for setting it up:
- To judge the validity/safety of GM research before it is carried out. …
- GEAC checks the validity/safety of GM research and the safety of releasing GM organisms for public services.
- Pro-insulin (A–C–B) becomes insulin by removing the connecting C-peptide, leaving A and B chains joined by disulphide bonds.
Part (a)
As genetic engineering can affect health and the environment, India set up the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) (under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) as the apex regulatory body for GMO activities. Two reasons for its establishment:
- To make decisions regarding the validity (and safety) of GM research — every proposal to genetically modify an organism is examined for scientific soundness and biosafety. …
Showing the 12 most recent of 72 on this concept.
- CBSE 2026Set 57/1/11 markMCQQ.Assertion (A) : The milk produced by transgenic cow ‘Rosie’ was nutritionally more balanced product for human babies than natural cow milk. Reason (R) : It was human protein enriched milk containing human alpha lactaglobulin. (A) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation for Assertion (A). (B) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation for Assertion (A). (C) Assertion (A) is true, but Reason (R) is false. (D) Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Rosie's milk was enriched with the human protein alpha-lactalbumin, which is precisely why it was more nutritionally balanced for human babies than natural cow milk. Both the assertion and the reason are true and the reason correctly explains the assertion - option (A).
Assertion (A): Rosie's milk was a nutritionally more balanced product for human babies than natural cow milk. This is true - it was the whole purpose of producing Rosie: ordinary cow milk has protein ratios unsuited to human infants, whereas Rosie's milk was engineered to be closer to human milk.
Reason (R): the milk was human-protein-enriched, containing human alpha-lactalbumin. This is also true (the protein named in the paper, written 'alpha lactaglobulin', is a misspelling of alpha-lactalbumin, the human milk protein Rosie's milk was enriched with). Adding this human protein is exactly what made the milk more balanced for babies - so the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion. …
- CBSE 2026Set 57/3/11 markMCQQ.Golden rice is a promising transgenic crop. When released for cultivation, it will help in : (A) Producing petrol-like fuel (B) Reduction of Vitamin A deficiency in humans (C) Pest resistance (D) Herbicide tolerance
›Reveal solutionSolution
Golden rice is a genetically modified crop engineered to produce beta-carotene, which the human body converts into Vitamin A, making it a tool to combat Vitamin A deficiency.
Golden rice is one of the most well-known examples of a genetically modified organism (GMO) developed for humanitarian purposes. To understand what it does, we first need to step back and look at why it was created. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious public health problem in many developing countries, particularly in parts of Asia and Africa where rice is a dietary staple. Rice, however, contains no beta-carotene (the precursor to Vitamin A) in its polished grain. People who rely heavily on rice and lack access to diverse foods like carrots, leafy greens, or animal products often suffer from blindness, weakened immunity, and even death due to this deficiency.
Scientists addressed this by inserting two genes into the rice genome: one from a soil bacterium (Erwinia uredovora) and one from a daffodil plant. These genes enabled the rice plant to produce beta-carotene in the endosperm — the part of the grain we eat. The beta-carotene gives the rice a characteristic golden-yellow colour, hence the name "golden rice." When consumed, the human body converts this beta-carotene into Vitamin A.
NoteGolden rice is not intended to replace a balanced diet or Vitamin A supplements. It is designed as a supplementary intervention for populations where rice is the primary food and access to other sources of Vitamin A is limited. …
- CBSE 2026Set EG1 markQ.Write the name of any one transgenic animal.
›Reveal solutionSolution
A transgenic animal example: the cow Rosie (or a transgenic mouse).
A transgenic (genetically modified) animal is one that carries a foreign (manipulated) gene deliberately introduced into it. A well-known example is the transgenic cow Rosie, which produced human protein-enriched milk (containing human alpha-lactalbumin), making the milk more balanced for human babies.
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- CBSE 2026Set A1 markMCQQ.Which technique was used to prevent infection of tobacco plants from Meloidegyne incognitia tapeworm?(a) RNA interference(b) Cry protein(c) Somatic hybridisation(d) Pesticide
›Reveal solutionSolution
RNA interference protected tobacco from the nematode; the correct option is (a).
The root parasite Meloidogyne incognita (a nematode, not a tapeworm as the stem loosely states) infects tobacco plants and reduces yield. Protection was achieved using RNA interference (RNAi). Using Agrobacterium as a vector, nematode-specific genes were introduced into the host plant to produce both sense and antisense RNA. These form a double-stranded RNA …
- CBSE 2026Set A1 markMCQQ.Which human protein is found in milk of the first transgenic cow-Rosie?(a) Alpha-1 antitrypsin(b) Alpha lactalbumin(c) Albumin(d) p53
›Reveal solutionSolution
Rosie's milk contained human alpha-lactalbumin; the correct option is (b).
Rosie, the first transgenic cow (1997), produced human protein-enriched milk containing about 2.4 grams per litre of human alpha-lactalbumin. This human protein made the milk nutritionally more balanced and suitable for human babies than ordinary cow's milk. It …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Which nematode infected the roots of tobacco plant and causes a great reduction in the yield?
›Reveal solutionSolution
The nematode Meloidogyne incognita infects tobacco roots and reduces yield; RNA interference (RNAi) technology has been used to make tobacco plants resistant to it.
Meloidogyne incognita is a nematode that infects the roots of tobacco plants, causing considerable reduction in yield. Using recombinant DNA technology, RNA interference (RNAi) was used to introduce nematode-specific genes into tobacco cells via Agrobacterium ve …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.C-peptide of human insulin is(a) A part of mature insulin molecule(b) Responsible for disulphide bridge formation(c) Removed during maturation of pro-insulin to insulin(d) Responsible for biological activity
›Reveal solutionSolution
Pro-insulin contains an extra connecting (C) peptide that is enzymatically removed to yield mature, biologically active insulin made of the A and B chains.
Insulin is initially synthesised as a single polypeptide precursor called pro-insulin, which contains the A chain, the B chain, and a connecting segment called the C-peptide in between. During post-translational processing/maturation, the C-peptide is enzymatically cleaved off (removed), leaving only the A and B chains, which remain linked together by disulphide bridges to form mature, biologically active insulin.
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- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Two polypeptide chains of human insulin are linked to each other :(a) by phosphodiester bonds(b) by convalent bonds(c) by disulphide bonds(d) by hydrogen bonds
›Reveal solutionSolution
The A and B polypeptide chains of mature human insulin are held together by disulphide (S–S) bonds.
Mature human insulin consists of two polypeptide chains — chain A (21 amino acids) and chain B (30 amino acids) — that are covalently linked together by two disulphide bridges (and chain A also has one intra-chain disulphide bond). In the body, insulin is initially synthesised as a single-chain precursor, proinsulin, which contains an extra connecting C-peptide; this C-peptide is enzymatically removed to give the mature, biologically active two-chain insulin he …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Fill in the blank: Insulin is made up of two short polypeptide chain 'A' and 'B' linked by ______ bonds.
›Reveal solutionSolution
The A and B chains of insulin are joined by disulphide bonds.
Human insulin is a small protein hormone made of two short polypeptide chains, chain A and chain B. These two chains are held together by inter-chain disulphide (S-S) bridges formed between cysteine residues. In the body, insulin is first made as a single chain pro-hormone (pro-insulin) with an extra C-peptide, which is removed during maturation, …
- CBSE 2025Set X11 markMCQQ.Which among the following is an enzyme modified by genetic engineering and used as “Clot buster”?(a) Lipase(b) Pectinase(c) Protease(d) Streptokinase
›Reveal solutionSolution
Streptokinase, a genetically engineered enzyme, is used as a clot buster.
Streptokinase, produced by the bacterium Streptococcus and modified by genetic engineering, is used as a 'clot buster' to dissolve blood clots, for example in patients who have had a myocardial infarction (heart attack). Lipase, pectinase and protease are enzymes used in …
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.An important objective of biotechnology in the area of agriculture is -(a) to decrease seed number(b) to produce pest-resistant varieties of plants(c) to increase phosphorous, nitrogen production(d) to reduce the number of plants
›Reveal solutionSolution
Agricultural biotechnology mainly aims at developing pest-resistant crop varieties, such as Bt crops.
A key objective of biotechnology applied to agriculture is to reduce dependence on chemical pesticides by developing genetically modified, pest-resistant crop varieties — for example, Bt cotton and Bt brinjal, which carry cry genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that make plant tissue toxic to specific insect larvae. This raises crop yield and lowers the …
- CBSE 2025Set KH1 markMCQQ.Bt cotton formed from:(a) Virus(b) Fungi(c) Bacteria(d) Insects
›Reveal solutionSolution
The Bt toxin gene (cry) comes from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, so Bt cotton is formed using bacteria → option (c).
Concept. "Bt" stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil bacterium that produces crystal (Cry) proteins toxic to certain insect larvae.
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