NEETZoologyBiotechnology - Principles and Processes
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A): In agarose gel electrophoresis, the smallest DNA fragments move the farthest away from the wells. Reason (R): The agarose gel matrix provides a sieving effect, allowing smaller, negatively charged DNA molecules to pass through more easily towards the anode. In the light of the above statements, cho
Options
- ABoth (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
- BBoth (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
- C(A) is true but (R) is false
- D(A) is false but (R) is true
Correct answer
B. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Step-by-step solution
Assertion (A) is true. In agarose gel electrophoresis, DNA fragments are separated based on their size, and the smallest fragments travel the farthest distance from the loading wells. Reason (R) is also true and correctly explains the Assertion. DNA molecules are negatively charged, so they move towards the positive electrode (anode) under an electric field. The agarose gel acts as a sieve, offering less resistance to smaller molecules. Therefore, the smaller the fragment size, the farther and faster it moves throu