Question

Plasmid DNA contains genes that:
A. Confer drug resistance to the host cell
B. Regulate conjugation
C. Can confer resistance to heavy metals.
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: A plasmid is a circular DNA fragment that contains numerous important genes and DNA sequences that cannot be found in the bacterial chromosome.
The plasmid DNA includes a replication origin, an antibiotic resistance gene, a promoter sequence, as well as a restriction digestion site.

Complete Step by Step Answer:
A cell is a fundamental unit of life on Earth; some organisms are unicellular, with only one cell, while others are multicellular, with many cell types. Prokaryotes are unicellular organisms, while eukaryotes are multicellular organisms. Bacteria and viruses are examples of common prokaryotes. Bacteria are single-cell organisms with bacterial chromosomes made of DNA as their genetic material. Aside from that, bacteria have plasmid DNA, which is circular DNA found in the cytoplasm of the cell. The plasmid DNA includes several genes for bacterial survival.
The plasmid DNA aids the organism's survival. It destroys other host cells by releasing harmful proteins and safeguards its own cells by developing resistance to the foreign organism or killing it.
Tra genes are found in F-plasmids, also known as fertility plasmids. They can conjugate, resulting in the expression of sex pili.
Resistance (R) plasmids are plasmids that carry genes that provide resistance to antibiotics or poisons. Even before the characteristic of plasmids was understood, they were known as R-factors.
Bacteriocins, proteins that can destroy other bacteria, are encoded by genes in Col plasmids. Degradative plasmids can digest unusual substances such as toluene and salicylic acid. Virulence plasmids that transform the bacterium into a pathogen, for instance, Ti plasmid in Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
Therefore, it can be concluded that all the given statements are correct.
The correct option is D.

Note: Plasmids (small additional snippets of DNA that can be transmitted between bacteria) can carry genes that confer resistance to biocides as well as heavy metals like arsenic, copper, silver, lead, and mercury.