Question:hard
Which of the following usually requires an RNA intermediate for cloning or replication?
Which of the following usually requires an RNA intermediate for cloning or replication?
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Think of the element that can move via a retrotransposition (RNA) route.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Transposons
- Plasmids
- Phages
- Cosmids
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Plasmids, bacteriophages, and cosmids are all DNA-based cloning or replicating elements; their genomes are copied directly as DNA with no RNA step.
Step 2: Transposons are different. A major subclass, the retrotransposons, moves by a copy-and-paste mechanism in which the element is first transcribed into RNA and then reverse-transcribed back into DNA for insertion elsewhere.
Step 3: Because this RNA-mediated route is characteristic of transposons (retrotransposons) and absent from the other three, the answer is transposons.
\[\boxed{\text{Transposons}}\]
Step 2: Transposons are different. A major subclass, the retrotransposons, moves by a copy-and-paste mechanism in which the element is first transcribed into RNA and then reverse-transcribed back into DNA for insertion elsewhere.
Step 3: Because this RNA-mediated route is characteristic of transposons (retrotransposons) and absent from the other three, the answer is transposons.
\[\boxed{\text{Transposons}}\]
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