Kerala SET 2026: January, Paper II, Bio-Technology
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A
26137 120 MINUTES
1. Name the carbohydrate which is present in cartilages, esterified with sulphate groups:
A) Chondroitin B) Hyaluronic acid
C) Keratin D) Heparin
2. Which following statement about cellulose is false?
A) It is a polymer of β-D-glucose
B) It forms hydrogen bonds between chains
C) It is soluble in water
D) It is the most abundant carbohydrate present in nature
3. The fatty acid essential for human body:
A) Palmitic acid B) Linoleic acid
C) Oleic acid D) Both A and B
4. Give the function of bacterial mesosomes?
A) nutrient storage B) protein trafficking
C) DNA condensation D) Respiration
5. Baltimore classification of virus is based on:
A) Capsid symmetry B) Replication strategy
C) Genome type D) Both B and C
6. Which of the following algae is unicellular and flagellated?
A) Volvox B) Laminaria
C) Chlamydomonas D) Porphyra
7. What is the mechanism of action of tetracyclins for inhibiting the growth of the
microbes?
A) Inhibition of gyrase
B) Disrupting cytoplasmic membrane
C) Blocking the attachment of tRNA and 30S ribosome
D) Inhibition of RNA POL from transcription
8. In RFLP analysis, a point mutation that creates s new restriction site will:
A) Increase fragment size B) Decrease fragment size
C) Eliminate all fragments D) No change in fragment pattern
9. The nature of the ends created by the type II endonuclease is:
A) The ends created are always single stranded
B) The ends created are always double stranded
C) One end is single stranded and one end is double stranded
D) Either the ends are single stranded or they are double stranded
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10. In CRISPR-Cas9 editing, the cell can repair double strand breaks by:
A) Non-homologous end joining
B) Homology directed repair
C) Both A & B
D) BER
11. Which of the following statements about Hsp60 is false?
A) Primarily located in mitochondria and chloroplasts
B) Requires ATP hydrolysis for substrate release
C) Directly degrades misfolded proteins
D) Forms a double ring structure with GroES cap
12. In the Meselson and Stahl experiment in 1958, after one generation in the N14
medium, E.Coli DNA showed:
A) Only heavy band B) Only light band
C) Intermediate band D) One heavy and one light band
13. In an activated sludge bioreactor, F/M ratio is used to control:
A) Dissolved oxygen level
B) Sludge aging
C) Organic loading and microbial growth
D) Reactor temperature
14. Which following bacterium is known for degrading petroleum hydrocarbons and can
thrive in low oxygen zones?
A) Trichodermaviridae B) Pseudomonas putida
C) Bacillus subtilis D) Geobactersulphurreducens
15. MAP stands for:
A) Modified Air Packaging B) Modified Atmosphere Packaging
C) Microbial Action Process D) None of these
16. The organelle that functions in the nucleation of microtubules:
A) Nucleolus B) Centrosome C) Centromere D) SER
17. Facilitated diffusion of certain polar molecules across the plasma membrane
down their concentration gradient through:
A) Single pass transmembrane proteins
B) Phospholipid bilayer
C) Porins with β-barrel motifs
D) GPI anchored proteins
18. Which of the following is always present in all viruses?
A) Envelope B) Capsid
C) Matrix protein D) Reverse transcriptase
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19. The DNA form which is most common in cells under physiological conditions:
A) A-DNA B) B-DNA C) D-DNA D) Z-DNA
20. The oxygen evolving complex (OEC) is associated with :
A) Photosystem I B) Photosystem II
C) Cytochrome bf D) Plasoquinone
21. The media which which is selective for halophilic bacteria is:
A) Blood agar B) Mac Conkey agar
C) Sabouraud dextrose agar D) Mannitol salt agar
22. The essential components of the tissue engineering triad are:
A) Cells, scaffold, bioreactor
B) Cells, antibiotics, bioreactor
C) Scaffold, serum, growth factors
D) Cells, scaffold, growth factors
23. The term “Agretope” refers to:
A) The portion of peptide that binds MHC
B) The portion of peptide that binds TCR
C) The antibody binding site
D) The antigen binding site on B-cell receptor
24. The most popular enzyme used in RFLP analysis due to its ability to recognise
methylation sensitive sites is:
A) HindIII B) MseI C) HpaII D) EcoRI
25. The various steps for construction of genomic DNA libraries are :
1. Fragmentation of DNA 2. Isolation of genomic DNA
3. Amplification 4. Ligation and introduction to the host
5. Vector preparation
The correct order of construction of libraries is (In the order of starting to ending).
A) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 B) 2, 1, 5, 4, 3 C) 2, 5, 1, 4, 3 D) 5, 2, 1, 3, 4
26. For a dataset, mean = 20 and variance = 16. What is the standard deviation?
A) 4 B) 8 C) 2 D) 5
27. Find the value of tan 450?
A) 0 B) 1 C) √3 D) ∞
28. Identify the wrong match from the following pairs of enzymes with their industrial
application:
A) Catalase - Textile industry
B) Amyloglucosidase - Biofuel generation
C) Pectinase - Food and Beverage industry
D) Alkaline phosphatise - Dairy industry
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29. The most heat-resistant microorganism targeted in low acid canned foods is:
A) Vibrio Cholerae B) Clostridium botulinum
C) Salmonella typhi D) Sttaphylococcusaureus
30. What is the result of dividing (4+6i) by (2+3i)?
A) 2+i B) 2–i C) 4/3 + 2i D) 4/3 – 2i
31. Which of the following is a C3 plant?
A) Wheat B) Maize C) Sugarcane D) Millet
32. The intermediate that is transported from the mitochondria to the cytosol in urea
cycle:
A) Argininosuccinate B) Citrulline
C) Ornithine D) Arginin
33. The coenzyme required for transamination reactions:
A) PLP B) NAD+ C) CoA D) FAD
34. Which assay measures the concentration of antigen by using a labelled secondary
antibody?
A) RT PCR B) Western Blot
C) ELISA D) Microarray
35. The first recombinant vaccine produced by biotechnology targeted the surface
antigen of:
A) Corona virus B) Ebola virus
C) Hepatitis B virus D) DENV1
36. Which interleukin triggers the signaling pathways and activates the master
transcription factor GATA3, which drives the Th2 lineage development?
A) IL-2 B) IL-4 C) IL-12 D) IL-17
37. The stains which is specific for fungal cell wall chitin:
A) Giemsa stain B) Methylene Blue
C) Grams stain D) Calcoflour White
38. Aquaporins facilitate the rapid movement of :
A) Na+ B) K+ C) Water D) Glucose
39. The hallmark of cut-and-paste transposition
A) Target site duplication
B) Cointegrate intermediate
C) Requirement for reverse transcriptase
D) Synthesis of a DNA-RNA hybrid
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40. LINE-1 is an example of:
A) Integron B) Plasmid
C) DNA transposon D) Retrotransposon
41. The system commonly used to achieve tissue specific gene deletion in a conditional
knock out experiment?:
A) Cre-loxP B) Tet-On/Off
C) CRISPR-dCas9 D) Flp-FRT
42. The type of gene therapy which involves bacterial cytosine deaminase gene with 5-
fluorocytosine:
A) Enzyme replacement B) Gene addition
C) Suicide gene therapy D) Gene editing
43. Which among the following is a characteristic feature of finite cell lines?
A) Can grow indefinitely
B) Undergo senescence after a set number of divisions
C) Derived from tumors
D) Always require feeder layer
44. What is the origin of MCF-7 cell line?
A) Human neuroblastoma cells
B) Human embryonic stem cells
C) Human cervical cancer cells
D) Human breast cancer cells
45. Consider the sets A={1,2,3} , B= {2,3,4}, and C= {3,4,5}. What is (A∪B)∩(B∪C)?
A) {2,3,4} B) {2,3} C) {3} D) {2,3,4,5}
46. The degrees of freedom for a 2×3 Chi-square contingency table are :
A) 2 B) 4 C) 6 D) 8
47. What is the role of microbes in producing miso?
A) Protein hydrolysis B) Fat hydrolysis
C) Lactic acid fermentation D) Amylase production
48. PLA bioplastics (polylactic acid) is derived from:
A) Petroleum cracking B) Animal fats
C) Silicone oil D) Fermentation of sugars
49. The rate limiting step of de novo purine synthesis is catalysed by:
A) IMP dehydrogenase B) Adenosuccinatelyase
C) PRPP synthetase D) Glutamate PRPP amidotransferase
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50. Which of these statements is TRUE about Km?
A) High Km indicates high substrate affinity
B) Km changes with substrate concentration
C) Km changes with enzyme concentration
D) Km is independent of enzyme concentration
51. Rigor mortis occurs due to:
A) Excess Ca2+ in the cytosol
B) Denaturation of troponin
C) Breakdown of actin filaments
D) Lack of ATP
52. Soluble Ferredoxin NADP+ reductase is located in:
A) Thylakoid lumen B) Mitochondrial lumen
C) Stroma D) Inner mitochondrial membrane
53. The repolarisation phase of an action potential is mainly due to:
A) Na+ influx B) K+ efflux C) Ca2+ influx D) Cl- influx
54. For competitive inhibition, the Lineweaver Burk plot shows:
A) Increased slope, same y-intercept
B) Same slope, different y-intercept
C) Decreased slope, same y-intercept
D) No change in slope or intercept
55. Which of the following is a matrix used for enzyme entrapment?
A) Chitosan B) Alginate beads
C) Cellulose acetate D) Glass beads
56. Which of the following statements about sucrose density gradient centrifugation is
false?
A) Separates based on sedimentation velocity
B) Used for isolation and purification of viruses
C) Suitable for separating ribosomes from polysomes
D) Used to separate molecules based on their charge
57. The detergent that is most suitable for solubilising membrane proteins while
preserving their native confirmation:
A) CHAPS B) Triton X-100
C) Urea D) SDS
58. Western blotting after SDS PAGE is used to:
A) Quantify enzyme activity
B) Detect specific proteins using antibodies
C) Identify DNA fragments
D) Determine protein-protein interactions
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59. Order the following steps in the Ras-MAPK signalling pathway?
1. Ras-GTP binding 2. MEK activation
3. Raf phosphorylation 4. ERK activation
A) 1, 3, 2, 4 B) 1, 3, 4, 2 C) 2, 3, 4, 1 D) 1, 2, 3, 4
60. If a person's white blood cells contain the HLA-B27 antigen, he will be at high risk
for:
A) Type 1 diabetes B) Multiple sclerosis
C) Rheumatoid arthritis D) Ankylosing spondylitis
61. The most commonly used monoclonal antibody for treatment of breast cancer is:
A) Imdevimab B) Casirivimab C) Erbutir D) Herceptin
62. The pharmacokinetic parameter which represents the total amount of drug in the body:
A) Clearance Cl B) Volume of distribution Vd
C) Half life t1/2 D) Area under the curve AUC
63. The immunosuppressant drug which specifically blocks the signal transduction from
IL-2 receptor by inhibiting mTOR:
A) Rapamycin B) Cyclosporin
C) Tacrolimus D) Mycophenolatemofetil
64. Which of the following statement is incorrect for culture and maintenance of
mammalian cells in vitro?
A) Transformed cell lines need an exogenous supply of serum for growth
B) The cells that are obtained directly from an organism is primary culture
C) Trypsin is added to cell culture dish to maintain cell viability and health
D) HEPES is generally used for pH balance in animal culture media
65. A common problem in plants raised from anther culture is:
A) High variability B) Root rot
C) Albinism D) Delayed flowering
66. The function of Poly vinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) in plant tissue culture is:
A) Callus induction
B) Antioxidant
C) Stimulate production of secondary metabolites
D) Chelator of ions
67. In GMP, ‘CAPA’ stands for:
A) Compliance Assurance and Production Audit
B) Continuous Assessment and Performance Analysis
C) Corrective and Preventive Action
D) Controlled Access and Process Approval
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68. Which of the following PPE is mandatory for BSL-2 labs?
A) Gloves and masks only
B) Lab coat, gloves, mask and eye protection
C) Full body suit with respirator
D) No PPE required
69. What is the binary representation of the number13?
A) 1101 B) 1011 C) 1110 D) 1001
70. Consider the following statement, and choose the correct option. A company patents a
traditional medicinal plant used by an indigenous community.
A) The patent is valid if the company can prove its use in an innovative way
B) The patent is invalid due to its prior use.
C) The patent requires benefit sharing with the indigenous community
D) The patent is exempt from intellectual property laws
71. The international agreement which governs GI tags:
A) TRIPS Agreement B) Madrid Protocol
C) Lisbon Agreement D) Paris Convention
72. The gene finder tool specifically designed for bacterial genomes:
A) BLAST B) FASTA C) GENSCAN D) Glimmer
73. Name the Tumor suppressor gene product functions as a cell cycle checkpoint at G1-S
transition:
A) p53 B) RB C) PTEN D) Both A and C
74. The protein which is a component of the U1 snRNP:
A) U2AF65 B) SF3B1 C) Sm proteins D) PRPF3
75. Self-splicing Group II introns are characterised by:
A) Requirement of a spliceosome
B) Formation of a lariat intermediate
C) Presence of a ribozyme
D) Both B & C
76. The ‘hit and run’ hypothesis in viral carcinogenesis refers to:
A) Persistent viral replication required throughout tumor progression
B) Transient viral infection induces mutations, then virus may be lost
C) Virus integrates and remains detectable in all tumor cells
D) Viral proteins act as tumor suppressors initially, then become oncogenic.
77. Which of the following is a gastrointestinal zymogen?
A) Carboxypeptidase A B) Trypsin
C) Pepsinogen D) Prothrombine
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78. Which complex in the electron transport chain is responsible for pumping the most
protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane?
A) Complex I- NADH dehydrogenase
B) Complex II-Succinate dehydrogenase
C) Complex III- Cytochrome b-c1 complex
D) Complex IV- Cytochrome oxidase
79. The enzyme engineering approach which mimics natural evolution:
A) Site directed mutagenesis B) Homology modeling
C) Directed evolution D) Molecular docking
80. PET scans employ the radioactive decay of :
A) Cobalt-60 B) Fluorine-18 C) Radium-226 D) Strontium-90
81. The Cytochrome P450 enzyme responsible for metabolizing approximately 50% of
clinically used drugs:
A) CYP1A2 B) CYP3A4 C) CYP2C9 D) CYP2D6
82. In a dose response curve, a competitive antagonist shifts the curve:
A) Rightward, No change in Emax
B) Leftward, increased Emax
C) Downward, reduced Emax
D) No shift, reduces slope
83. The vitamin essential for converting homocysteine to methionine:
A) Vitamin C B) Vitamin B12 C) Vitamin B6 D) Vitamin B9
84. The term used for the compound that appears identical to an active drug but having no
biological activity:
A) Dummy drug B) Gazebo
C) Placebo D) Peptidomimetic
85. The SH2 domain of a STAT protein binds to:
A) Phosphotyrosine on the receptor’s JAK-phosphorylated tail
B) ATP-binding site of JAK
C) The ligand’s extracellular domain
D) The hydrophilic side of the plasma membrane
86. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited maternally because:
A) Sperm mitochondria are degraded by ubiquitination in the zygote
B) Only the egg contributes mitochondria to the embryo
C) Mitochondrial DNA replicates only after fertilization
D) Paternal mtDNA is methylated and silenced
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87. The peppered moth (Bistonbetularia) shift from light to dark during the industrial
revolution is a classic example of:
A) Random genetic drift B) Balancing selection
C) Directional selection D) Frequency dependent selection
88. During SOS repair, activated RecA promotes autocatalytic cleavage of :
A) LexA B) UmuD C) SSB D) dsDNA
89. In prokaryotes, the origin of replication is recognized by:
A) ORC B) ARS
C) DnaA protein D) MCM
90. The photopigment responsible for human colour vision in bright light:
A) Phytochrome B) Rhodopsin
C) Melanopsin D) Iodopsin
91. The standard free energy change ΔG0 for ATP hydrolysis is approximately---- kJ/mol.
A) -30.5 B) +30.5 C) -7.3 D) +7.3
92. Which of the following matrices is commonly used for protein analysis in MALDI?
A) Acetonitrile
B) 3-hydroxypicolinic acid (HPA)
C) α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA)
D) 2-Propanol
93. Which class of the following antibiotics targets 50 S ribosomal subunit?
A) Aminoglycosides B) Erythromycin
C) Tetracyclins D) Hygromycin B
94. An induced fit is the process by which:
A) Binding of a drug to a binding site alters the shape of the binding site
B) A binding site alters shape such that it is ready to accept a drug
C) A drug adopts the correct binding conformation before entering a binding site
D) A binding site alters the shape of the drug into the binding conformation before
binding
95. Which among the following statements about genome wide association studies
(GWAS) in pharmacogenomics is TRUE?
A) They focus on single candidate gene
B) They require sequencing of the entire exome
C) They are used to diagnose monogenic diseases
D) They identify common variants associated with drug response across the
genome
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96. Identify the structural feature of IgM that allows it to efficiently activate the
complement system?
A) J-chain mediated polymerisation
B) Additional constant domain
C) Enhanced Hinge flexibility
D) Higher stability of Fab region.
97. Which following factor most significantly affects the sensitivity of Radio immuno
assay (RIA)?
A) Concentration of radiolabel
B) pH of the assay buffer
C) Affinity of the antibody for antigen
D) Sample volume loaded
98. The fossil record showing long periods of morphological stability interrupted by
sudden appearance of new forms supports:
A) Punctuated equilibrium B) Phyletic gradualism
C) Neutral theory D) Catastrophism
99. Which method is used to calibrate a molecular clock?
A) Comparing GC content of genomes
B) Calculating gene frequencies in a population
C) Using well dated fossil records
D) Measuring mutation rates
100. A mutation that deletes the p21 gene would result in:
A) Arrest in G1-S transition
B) Loss of cell cycle arrest after DNA damage
C) Hyper activation of CDK4/6
D) Programmed cell death
101. The MutS-MutL complex in E.coli recognizes:
A) DNA-RNA hybrids B) Base pair mismatches
C) Thymine dimmers D) Only double strand breaks
102. The role of beam splitter in a double beam spectrophotometer is:
A) Filters unwanted wavelengths
B) Divides light into sample and reference paths
C) Amplifies the signal
D) Converts light into electrons
103. Which type of the following radiations has the highest penetration power?
A) Alpha (α) Particles B) Beta (β) Particles
C) Gamma (γ) rays D) X-rays
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104. Reverse-phase HPLC uses a:
A) Ion exchange resin
B) Size exclusion matrix
C) Polar stationary phase and non polar mobile phase
D) Non polar stationary phase and polar mobile phase
105. The descriptor commonly used in computer aided drug designing 0D QSAR
models is:
A) Lipinski’s Rule of Five B) Gibbs free energy for binding
C) Molecular weight D) Both B and C
106. The probiotic strain most commonly used for lactose intolerance is:
A) Lactobacillus rhamnosus B) actobacillus acidophilus
C) Bifidobacteriumlactis D) Both B and C
107. The compound in grapes which is responsible for its nutraceutical activity:
A) Quercetin B) Curcumin C) Resveratrol D) catechin
108. Alteplase is a recombinant form of human:
A) Plasmin B) Tissue plasminogen activator
C) Streptokinase D) Urokinase
109. The host cell most commonly used for producing recombinant human growth hormone
(r-hGH):
A) Escherichia coli B) Saccharomyces cerevisiae
C) CHO cell line D) Bacillus subtilis
110. Which enzyme is inhibited by grapefruit juice leading to higher drug concentrations
and increased side effects?
A) COMT B) CYP2E1 C) CYP3A4 D) P-glycoprotein
111. For the equation 2 − 5 + 3 = 0, the products of the roots is:
A) 5/2 B) 3/2 C) −5/2 D) −3/2
112. Galton’s Original concept of eugenics is best described by:
A) Promoting universal healthcare
B) Studying mutations leading to human diseases
C) Mapping the entire human genome
D) Improving human traits through selective breeding
113. Which of the following is not a co translational modification?
A) N-Glycosylation B) Ubiquitination
C) Signal peptide cleavage D) Myristoylation
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114. In the feed-back regulation of glycolysis, phosphofructokinase-1is inhibited by:
A) AMP and NADH B) ATP and citrate
C) NADH and FADH2 D) Glucose 6 phosphate
115. If the path length (l) is doubled while keeping concentration (c) and constant,
absorbance (A) will become:
A) Double B) Half C) unchanges D) zero
116. The prenatal ‘Triple screen test’ measures:
A) Alpha-fetoprotein, hCG, inhibin A
B) Alpha-fetoprotein, hCG, unconjugated estriol
C) PAPP-A, hCG, nuchal trasnlucency
D) Alpha-fetoprotein, hCG, progesterone
117. Identify the enzymes required - in plant tissue: to prepare protoplast, in animal cell
culture: to prepare cell suspension from tissue:
A) Amylase and phospholipase
B) Lipase and dipeptidase
C) Cellulose and trypsin
D) Catalase and galactosidase
118. The 1975 Asilomar Conference focused on:
A) Human cloning B) Patent laws
C) Xenotransplantation D) rDNA research guidelines
119. The purpose of GMO labelling is:
A) Tracking GMO distribution
B) Ensuring public safety
C) Allowing consumer choice
D) Facilitating GMO detection
120. The government agency responsible for overseeing the implementation of the
Bioterrorism protection act is:
A) CDC B) NIH C) FBI D) DHS
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Source: LBS Centre for Science and Technology. Question paper published by LBS Centre for Science and Technology.