Question

Bioluminescence is the emission of light by a living organism. It occurs naturally in many organisms. For example, one species of jellyfish has a protein that causes it to glow in a bright, green color. Scientists have isolated the gene that produces the bioluminescence protein and inserted the gene into the embryos of tetra fish. This results in tetra fish that produce a green glow.



Which statement explains why the tetra fish are able to produce a green glow?
A.
The tetra fish were bred with jellyfish, which produced offspring that can make the protein for green light.
B.
The inserted gene gave the tetra fish the ability to make the protein that produces green light.
C.
The protein that produces green light was taken from the jellyfish and injected into the tetra fish.
D.
The genetic material of both the jellyfish and tetra fish were combined, which created a fish with all traits from both species.

Answer 1

B.

The isolated jellyfish gene was inserted into the tetra embryos, so the fish's cells can transcribe and translate that gene to make the bioluminescent protein.
- A is wrong because no breeding with jellyfish occurred.
- C is wrong because the protein itself wasn't injected — the gene was.
- D is wrong because the fish did not receive all jellyfish traits or a full combined genome; only a specific gene was added.