Question

Human insulin is being commercially produced from a transgenic species of:

• A. Escherichia coli
• B. Mycobacterium
• C. Rhizobium
• D. Saccharomyces

Answer 1

The correct option is A

Escherichia coli

The correct option is A.

Explanation for the correct option:

1. Human insulin is made from genetically modified E.coli.
2. Insulin-producing genes from humans were transferred into E.coli bacteria, which produced insulin called 'humulin' for clinical use using genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technology.
3. On July 5, 1983, the American pharmaceutical company Eli Lily commercialized this type of insulin.

Explanation for the incorrect options:

Option B:

1. The bacterium that causes tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB).
2. TB bacteria typically attack the lungs, but they can attack any part of the body, including the kidney, spine, and brain.

Option C:

1. Rhizobium is a soil bacterium that helps leguminous plants fix nitrogen.
2. It attaches to the roots of leguminous plants and forms nodules.
3. These nodules fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into ammonia, which the plant can use for growth and development.

Option D:

1. Due to its unique physiology and associated key roles in many food fermentation and other industrial processes.
2. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most commonly used yeast in biotechnology worldwide.

Final answer: Human insulin is being commercially produced from a transgenic species of Escherichia coli.