Question

Although the Ti plasmid has revolutionized plant genetic engineering, one limitation of its use is that it

• A. Cannot infect broad leaf plants
• B. Cannot be used on fruit-bearing plants
• C. Cannot transmit prokaryotic genes
• D. Does not infect cereal plants such as corn and rice

Answer 1

The correct option is D Does not infect cereal plants such as corn and rice

Ti plasmid is a genetically engineered plasmid which has the ability of inducing cell division or tumour formation in plants. The Ti plasmid is formed by modifying the plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens through genetic engineering. The part of Ti plasmid transferred in the plant is T-DNA and this T-DNA is replaced with desired DNA and inserted into the chromosome of the host plant where is replicates.

The limitation of this Ti-plasmid mediated gene transfer is that it can't be used to transform monocots such as grasses, corn, rice etc.

So, the correct answer is 'Does not infect cereal plants such as corn and rice'.