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): Plasmids are extensively utilized as vectors in recombinant DNA technology. Reason (R): Plasmids are the main genomic DNA of bacteria which confer unique phenotypic characters like antibiotic resistance to the host cell. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from
Options
- ABoth (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
- BBoth (A) and (R) are correct but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
- C(A) is correct but (R) is not correct
- D(A) is not correct but (R) is correct
Correct answer
C. (A) is correct but (R) is not correct
Step-by-step solution
Assertion (A) is correct because plasmids are widely used as cloning vectors to carry foreign DNA into host cells in recombinant DNA technology due to their ability to replicate autonomously. Reason (R) is incorrect because plasmids are small, circular, extrachromosomal DNA molecules, not the main genomic DNA (nucleoid) of the bacteria. While they do confer unique phenotypic characters such as antibiotic resistance, they are physically distinct from the main chromosomal DNA. Therefore, (A) is correct but (R) is not