Question

An improved variety of transgenic basmati rice gives high yield and is rich in vitamin A.
a) True
b) False

Answer 1

Hint: By application of genetic engineering in the production of Basmati rice, several varieties of transgenic rice are introduced which provides more nutritional value than their parental strains. This technique helps in introducing the desired genes in the variety without changing its genetic background.

Complete step by step answer:
Transgenic rice is a variety of rice produced by genetic engineering that gives a high yield and is very rich in vitamin A. An example of such rice is golden rice which differs from its parental strain by the addition of three beta- Carotene biosynthesis genes. It has another version of golden rice 2 which is even richer in beta-carotene than normal golden rice.
Golden rice was produced to biosynthesize beta- carotene which is a precursor of vitamin A to be used in areas with a shortage of dietary A vitamins. The parental strain of this rice can produce beta-carotene naturally in the leaves but can not produce it in the edible parts of rice. But its progeny golden rice can produce additional beta-carotene in the edible parts.
Golden rice was significantly opposed by environmental and anti-globalization activists due to the doubt that it can pose a risk to human health. A study in the Philippines is aimed to evaluate the characteristics of this rice variety.
Golden rice 2 was announced in 2005 which can produce up to 23 times as much beta carotene as the original golden rice.

So, the correct answer is "True".

Note:
The transgenic variety of rice came into the attraction of scientists due to the reason that they enable the introduction of one or more genes into a leading cultivator without any change in its genetic background. There are several transformation methods that are employed in the Production of these rice which is mainly agrobacterium, biolistic, and DNA uptake by protoplasts.