How this Chapter is Tested in NEET
Biotechnology: Principles and Processes is a high-yield chapter - it usually contributes three to five questions in NEET, mixing straight recall of the tools with a few 'what-happens-if' reasoning items.
The recurring favourites are:
- Restriction enzymes - nomenclature (EcoRI), palindromes, sticky ends, HindII (first, 6 bp), and 'identify the incorrect statement'.
- Vectors and insertional inactivation - features of a vector (ori, marker, cloning site), pBR322 (PstI in ampR, BamHI in tetR), blue-white selection, and 'which is not a cloning vector'.
- DNA isolation and gel electrophoresis - lysozyme/cellulase/chitinase, chilled ethanol, DNA to the anode, ethidium bromide/UV orange bands, elution.
- PCR - the three steps and their order, Taq polymerase / Thermus aquaticus, primers, and the 2^n amplification.
- Bioreactors and downstream processing - stirred-tank parts (stirrer, foam breaker, sampling port) and what downstream processing involves.
The set below combines genuine NEET previous-year questions with a few exam-pattern questions.
Strategy: for a vector/insertional-inactivation item, track which antibiotic-resistance gene is disrupted; for a restriction-enzyme item, check the palindrome; and for PCR, fix the denaturation -> annealing -> extension order and the Taq enzyme.