[Campbell Biology P.476] According to the text, what is the primary purpose of 'gene drive' ... | Practice Question

According to the text, what is the primary purpose of 'gene drive' technology?

  • A: To ensure random inheritance of engineered genes in a population.
  • B: To prevent the transmission of diseases within a population.
  • C: To engineer an allele to be highly favored for inheritance, thus rapidly spreading it through a population.
  • D: To permanently alter the genome to remove unwanted genes.

Explanation

The text states: 'This technology is called a gene drive because the biased inheritance of the engineered gene during reproduction rapidly "drives" the new allele through the population.' It further explains that 'this approach is to engineer the new allele so that it is much more highly favored for inheritance than the wild-type allele.'