Which of the following is not the salient feature of Human Genome Project (HGP)?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → More than 2 percent of the genome codes for proteins.
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was a large international project to find the full sequence of bases in human DNA and to identify all the genes.
Option (1) The human genome contains 3164.7 million bp. — A salient feature of HGP. The full human genome is about 3 × 109 base pairs long.
Option (2) The average gene consists of 3000 bases, but sizes vary greatly, with the largest known human gene being dystrophin at 2.4 million bases. — A salient feature of HGP. Genes differ greatly in length. Dystrophin, the largest known gene, is about 800 times the average size.
Option (3) More than 2 percent of the genome codes for proteins. — Not a salient feature of HGP. The fact is reversed. HGP found that less than 2 per cent of the genome codes for proteins. Most of the rest is non-coding DNA, a large part of it repeated sequences.
Option (4) Chromosome 1 has the most genes (2968), and the Y has the fewest (231). — A salient feature of HGP. Chromosome 1 is the largest human chromosome and carries the most genes. The small Y chromosome carries the fewest.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2026 on 20-05-2026 (Slot 1).
NCERT Extract:
Salient Features of Human Genome – …
