Read the following paragraph and answer the given questions.
RNAi takes place in all eukaryotic organisms as a method of cellular defense. The source of this complementary RNA could be from an infection by viruses having RNA genomes or mobile genetic elements (transposons) that replicate via an RNA intermediate. Insulin from an animal source, though caused some patients to develop allergy or other types of reactions to the foreign protein. Insulin consists of two short polypeptide chains: chain A and chain B, that are linked together by disulphide bridges. Transgenic mice are being developed for use in testing the safety of vaccines before they are used on humans. Transgenic mice are being used to test the safety of the polio vaccine. If successful and found to be reliable, they could replace the use of monkeys to test the safety of batches of the vaccine. Specific Bt toxin genes were isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis and incorporated into the several crop plants such as cotton. The choice of genes depends upon the crop and the targeted pest, as most Bt toxins are insect-group specific. The toxin is coded by a gene cryIAc named cry. There are a number of them, for example, the proteins encoded by the genes cryIAc and cryIIAb control the cotton bollworms, that of cryIAb controls corn borer.
The Bt toxin gene cryIAb controls the:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Corn borer
The Bt toxin is coded by the cry genes of Bacillus thuringiensis. Each Bt toxin is specific to an insect group. The passage names them: cryIAc and cryIIAb control the cotton bollworms, and cryIAb controls the corn borer.
Option (2) Corn borer — Correct. Bt toxin genes are named by the pests their proteins control. The protein encoded by cryIAb controls the corn borer, while cryIAc and cryIIAb control the cotton bollworms.
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: The same question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2026 on 15-05-2026 (Slot 1).