Question

A molecule that can act as a genetic material must fulfil the traits given below, except

• A. It should be able to express itself in the form of Mendelian characters
• B. It should be able to generate its replica
• C. It should provide the scope for slow changes that are required for evolution
• D. It should be unstable structurally and chemically

Answer 1

The correct option is D It should be unstable structurally and chemically

Part 1: Structurally and chemically unstable
A molecule which can serve as genetic material should be chemically and structurally stable. This is required to ensure that the genetic material is transferred from one generation to the other without getting damaged or degraded.

Part 2: Scope for slow changes
For any molecule to be a genetic material, it should show a scope of slow changes such as mutations because this helps in generating variations which are important for evolution.

Part 3: Express in the form of Mendelian characters
As the genetic material contains genetic information of an organism that influences characters of an organism, for any molecule to be genetic material, it should be able to express itself in the form of Mendelian characters.

Part 4: Generate replica
For any molecule to be a genetic material, it should be able to generate its copy, that is, it should replicate itself. This is necessary so that the genetic material of the parent cell can be replicated and multiplied before being transferred to the daughter cell.

Final answer
(a) It should be unstable structurally and chemically