Question

A researcher is studying plant development. She isolates a mutant and discovers that the piece of DNA that is

mutated does not code for a protein. However, this piece of DNA is complimentary to a gene known to function
in early embryonic plant development. The mutant she identified most likely functions as a(n) ________.
A) general transcription factor known to regulate many different genes
B) ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
C) microRNA (miRNA)
D) transfer RNA (tRNA)
E) intron

Answer 1

The mutant is likely a microRNA (miRNA) that regulates gene expression during embryonic plant development by interacting with mRNA.

Step-by-step explanation:

The mutant identified by the researcher most likely functions as a microRNA (miRNA). miRNA is a non-coding RNA molecule that is complementary to a gene known to function in early embryonic plant development and regulates the expression of mRNA strands.

Given that the DNA does not code for a protein and is complementary to a known gene, it most likely is involved in a post-transcriptional regulatory process, which is characteristic of miRNAs.