With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Genome editing does not require the transfer of genes from one plant to another. 2. Through genome editing, the chosen genes can be altered precisely in a manner akin to the natural process that helps plants to adapt to the environmental factors. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

CSAT 2020 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2020 · Question 64 · Reading comprehension

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Passage—3

Genome editing is different from genome modification. Genome editing typically involves finding the part of a plant genome that could be changed to render it less vulnerable to disease, or resistant to certain herbicides, or to increase yields. Researchers use ‘molecular scissors’ to dissect the genome and repair it, which is a process that occurs naturally when plants are under attack from diseases and can throw up new mutations that enable the plant to survive future attacks. This evolutionary process can effectively be speeded up now that it is possible to examine plant genomes in detail in laboratories, and create mechanisms through which the relevant genes can be altered very precisely.

CSAT 2020 · Q64

Reading comprehension Medium

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1.Genome editing does not require the transfer of genes from one plant to another.
2.Through genome editing, the chosen genes can be altered precisely in a manner akin to the natural process that helps plants to adapt to the environmental factors.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

The passage separates genome editing from genome modification: editing finds and changes the relevant part of the plant's own genome, as plants do naturally under attack. So it needs no gene transfer from another plant (1), and it alters chosen genes precisely in a way akin to the natural adaptive process (2).

✓ 1. Editing works by 'finding the part of a plant genome' to change and repairing it with molecular scissors; the stated contrast with genome modification implies that no gene is brought in from another plant.
✓ 2. The cutting and repair 'occurs naturally when plants are under attack', and laboratories can now alter 'the relevant genes ... very precisely', speeding up this evolutionary process.

Remember · When a passage opens with 'X is different from Y', expect an assumption that captures the difference.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Passage—3

CSAT 2020 · Q64

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