Read the following paragraph and answer the given questions.
Repeated amplification is achieved by the use of a thermostable DNA polymerase (isolated from a bacterium, Thermus aquaticus), which remain active during the high temperature induced denaturation of double stranded DNA. The separated DNA fragments can be visualised only after staining the DNA with a compound known as ethidium bromide followed by exposure to UV radiation. The separated bands of DNA are cut out from the agarose gel and extracted from the gel piece. The convention for naming these enzymes is the first letter of the name comes from the genus and the second two letters come from the species of the prokaryotic cell from which they were isolated, e.g., EcoRI comes from Escherichia coli RY 13. In EcoRI, the letter ‘R’ is derived from the name of strain. Roman numbers following the names indicate the order in which the enzymes were isolated from that strain of bacteria. Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer accomplished this in 1972 by isolating the antibiotic resistance gene by cutting out a piece of DNA from a plasmid which was responsible for conferring antibiotic resistance. Since the DNA is enclosed within the membranes, we have to break the cell open to release DNA, RNA, protein, polysaccharides etc. The RNA can be removed by treatment with ribonuclease whereas proteins can be removed by treatment with protease. Other molecules can be removed by appropriate treatments and purified DNA ultimately precipitates out after the addition of chilled ethanol.
In agarose gel electrophoresis, the separated DNA fragments can be visualized with the help of compound known as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Ethidium bromide
Pure DNA fragments cannot be seen in visible light. The passage says that the DNA is stained with ethidium bromide and then exposed to UV radiation; the bands then glow bright orange.
Option (1) Ethidium chloride — Incorrect. The stain is the bromide, not the chloride.
Option (2) Rubidium bromide — Incorrect. Rubidium is a metal; its salt is not a DNA stain.
Option (3) Ethidium bromide — Correct. After electrophoresis, the separated DNA fragments are stained with ethidium bromide and exposed to UV radiation. The DNA then shows as bright orange coloured bands.
Option (4) Cesium bromide — Incorrect. It is not a DNA stain. (Meselson and Stahl used caesium chloride, a different salt, for density gradient centrifugation.)
Note 1: The passage is taken from NCERT. NTA has put lines of the NCERT text together to make it. Most CUET (UG) questions come straight from NCERT, so study the book line by line, including figures and their titles.
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2026 on 31-05-2026 (Slot 2) and on 20-05-2026 (Slot 2), and in CUET (UG) 2025 on 20-05-2025 (Slot 2) and on 14-05-2025 (Slot 1).