A conservation centre has two rare ferns. Fern P tolerates drought but is susceptible to a pathogen. Fern Q does not tolerate drought but is resistant to the pathogen.
The centre uses tissue culture to produce separate groups of plantlets from fern P and fern Q.
Which prediction is most reasonable?
Plantlets from P may resist the pathogen, while plantlets from Q may tolerate drought, because tissue culture changes inherited characteristics.
Plantlets within each group may show many combinations of the two characteristics, because tissue culture increases genetic variation.
Plantlets from P may tolerate drought but share pathogen susceptibility, while plantlets from Q may resist the pathogen but lack drought tolerance.
Plantlets in both groups may tolerate drought and resist the pathogen, because tissue culture copies only favourable characteristics.
100 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Biology 4.3 Selective breeding and genetic modification, covering 4.3.1 Selective breeding and its impact, 4.3.2 Tissue culture, 4.3.3 Genetic engineering overview, 4.3.4 Main stages of genetic engineering, 4.3.5 Advantages and disadvantages of GM organisms, 4.3.6 Agricultural solutions for a growing population, and 4.3.7 Evaluating genetic engineering and breeding. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.