Biology (Mader), 10th Edition

Chapter 14: Biotechnology and Genomics

Good Tobacco

Objective: Use tobacco as an example of a transgenic plant that has the potential to remove serious toxins from the environment.

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1.

What material(s) are used as explosives to fire shells and bombs by the military?
A)TNT and RDX
B)Gasoline & Fuel Oil
C)Acetylene
D)Natural Gas and Acetone
2.

What is the danger to the environment in using these explosives?
A)Particles scatter the area into which they are released.
B)When it rains they can seep into the soil and ground water.
C)They become air born pollutants contributing to acid raid deposition.
D)Two of the above
E)All of the above
3.

What is the primary way these sites are currently cleaned up?
A)Air purification systems
B)Reverse osmosis filtration
C)Digging up the dirt and incinerating it
D)They are not, it is left unattended to.
4.

Which of the following best describes the genetically modified organisms now being researched to remove the explosive contaminants?
A)Bacteria that have had genes inserted to digest TNT
B)Recently discovered aquatic plants that have been found to be able to digest explosives.
C)Tobacco plants that have had genes from toxin eating bacteria inserted into them.
D)Bacteria who have genes inserted from tobacco plants found capable of detoxifying RDX.
5.

What specifically can the plants do that make the explosives non-threatening to the environment?
A)They cause them to coalesce into large clumps that can be safely picked up and removed.
B)They cause them to be more water soluble, flushing them through the soil.
C)They are able to pull the nitrogen groups off of the molecule until it disintegrates.
D)They cause them to become so small that they become airborn and are diffused by wind currents.
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