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  4. A nematode Meloidogyne incognita infects the roots of tobacco plants and causes a great reduction in yield. A novel strategy was adopted to prevent this infestation which was based on the process of

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Q. A nematode Meloidogyne incognita infects the roots of tobacco plants and causes a great reduction in yield. A novel strategy was adopted to prevent this infestation which was based on the process of

NTA AbhyasNTA Abhyas 2020Biotechnology and its Applications

Solution:

Several nematodes parasitize a wide variety of plants and animals including human beings. A nematode Meloidogyne incognita infects the roots of tobacco plants and causes a great reduction in yield. A novel strategy was adopted to prevent this infestation which was based on the process of RNA interference (RNAi). RNAi takes place in all eukaryotic organisms as a method of cellular defense. This method involves the silencing of a specific mRNA due to a complementary dsRNA molecule that binds to and prevents translation of the mRNA (silencing). The source of this complementary RNA could be from infection by viruses having RNA genomes or mobile genetic elements (transposons) that replicate via an RNA intermediate. Using Agrobacterium vectors, nematode-specific genes were introduced into the host plant. The introduction of DNA was such that it produced both sense and anti-sense RNA in the host cells. These two RNA’s being complementary to each other formed a double-stranded (dsRNA) that initiated RNAi and thus, silenced the specific mRNA of the nematode.