Read the following passage carefully and answer the given questions.
Some strains of Bacillus thuringiensis produce proteins that kill certain insects such as lepidopterans (tobacco budworm, armyworm), coleopterans (beetles) and dipterans (flies, mosquitoes). B. thuringiensis forms protein crystals during a particular phase of their growth. Transgenic animals that produce useful biological products can be created by the introduction of the portion of DNA (or genes) which codes for a particular product such as human protein (α-1-antitrypsin) used to treat emphysema. In 1997, the first transgenic cow, Rosie, produced human protein-enriched milk (2.4 grams per litre). The milk contained the human alpha-lactalbumin and was nutritionally a more balanced product for human babies than natural cow-milk. A nematode Meloidegyne incognitia 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). This method involves silencing of a specific mRNA due to a complementary dsRNA molecule that binds to and prevents translation of the mRNA (silencing). Biopiracy is the term used to refer to the use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and people concerned without compensatory payment. ELISA is based on the principle of antigen-antibody interaction. Infection by pathogen can be detected by the presence of antigens (proteins, glycoproteins, etc.) or by detecting the antibodies synthesised against the pathogen.
Biopiracy is the term used to refer:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and people concerned without compensatory payment.
The passage defines biopiracy as the use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and people concerned and without compensatory payment. Both conditions must be there; the four options mix them.
Option (1) ... with proper authorisation ... with compensatory payment. — Incorrect. This is fair, legal use, the opposite of biopiracy.
Option (2) ... without proper authorisation ... with compensatory payment. — Incorrect. Here the users pay. The book’s definition needs both conditions together: no authorisation and no compensatory payment.
Option (3) ... without proper authorisation ... without compensatory payment. — Correct. Biopiracy is the use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and people concerned, and without compensatory payment.
Option (4) ... with proper authorisation ... without compensatory payment. — Incorrect. Here permission is taken. Use with proper authorisation is not piracy; the definition needs both conditions together.
Note: 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.