Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production Test - 29

The adhesive for paper, wood etc. obtained from fish is known as 'fish glue'. Fish glue is extracted from fish by heating the skin or bones in water. The purest form of fish glue is made from the membrane of the swim bladder, as sturgeon and also called as isinglass. Hence, option B is correct.

Somaclonal variation is the variation seen in plants that have been produced by plant tissue culture. Chromosomal rearrangements are an important source of this variation. The term somaclonal variation is a phenomenon of broad taxonomic occurrence, reported for species of different ploidy levels and for outcrossing and inbreeding, vegetatively and seed propagated and cultivated and non-cultivated plants. Characters affected include both, qualitative and quantitative traits. Somaclonal variation is seen in tissue culture grown plants.
Somaclonal variation is not restricted to, but is particularly common in, plants regenerated from callus. The variations can be genotypic or phenotypic, which in the latter case can be either genetic or epigenetic in origin.
Typical genetic alterations are: changes in chromosome numbers (polyploidy and aneuploidy), chromosome structure (translocations, deletions, insertions and duplications) and DNA sequence (base mutations). A typical epigenetics-related event would be gene methylation.

Single-cell protein (SCP) is protein-rich biomass that is used as food or feed. It is rich in good quality protein and poor in fats. It is prepared from monocellular microorganisms as well as from multicellular microorganisms. SCP is obtained from algae like Spirulina, fungi like yeast (Candida utilis), and bacteria like Methylophilus methylotrophus. Commercial SCP is based on mainly yeast and fungi. Mushroom is a fungus. It is eaten by many people and large-scale mushroom culture is a growing industry. Substrate for SCP is dust, paddy, straw, molasses. They produce large quantities of food rich in protein, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins.

Totipotency - The ability of cells such as an embryonic stem cell to differentiate into any type of body cell. Plant cells are also totipotent, which helps to explain why a graft of a plant can generate a whole new individual out of just a small branch cutting.
Totipotent cells can form all the cell types in a body, plus the extraembryonic, or placental, cells. Embryonic cells within the first couple of cell divisions after fertilization are the only cells that are totipotent. Pluripotent cells can give rise to all of the cell types that make up the body; embryonic stem cells are considered pluripotent. Multipotent cells can develop into more than one cell type, but are more limited than pluripotent cells; adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells are considered multipotent.

Single-cell protein (SCP) refers to edible unicellular microorganisms. The biomass or protein extract from pure or mixed cultures of algae, yeasts, fungi or bacteria may be used as an ingredient or a substitute for protein-rich foods, and is suitable for human consumption or as animal feeds.

• Totipotency is the ability of a single cell to divide and produce all of the differentiated cells in an organism. 
• Differentiation is the process by which a cell changes from one cell type to another. Most commonly this is a less specialized type becoming a more specialized type, such as during cell growth.
• Homeostasis is the property of maintaining the same conditions within the human body. The human body manages a multitude of highly complex interactions to maintain balance or return systems to functioning within a normal range.
• Dedifferentiation is an important biological phenomenon, whereby cells regress from a specialized function to a simpler state reminiscent of stem cells.

Rauvolfia serpentina is a species of flowering plant. It contains a number of bioactive chemicals, including yohimbine, reserpine, ajmaline, deserpidine, rescinnamine, serpentinine. The herb has a number of therapeutic benefits and has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. It is a central nervous system stimulant and also an anti-hypertensive. Its roots are known to treat intestinal disorders and also stimulate uterine contractions.

Seeds are classified as orthodox seeds and recalcitrant seeds. The orthodox seeds can tolerate dehydration and freezing whereas recalcitrant seeds cannot. Examples of orthodox or drying-tolerant seeds are most annual and biennial crops and agroforestry species, which are relatively small-seeded. 

One of the important non-cereal sources of starch is Manihot. Manihot is a genus of in the diverse milkspurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It was described as a genus in 1754. Species of Manihot are monecious trees, shrubs and a few herbs which are native to the Americas, from Arizona in the United States south to Argentina and Uruguay. The widely-cultivated cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a well known member of this genus. Manihot species are used as food plants by the larvae of some species of Lepidoptera including Endoclita sericeus and Hypercompe hambletoni.

Plant tissue culture is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition. Plant tissue culture is widely used to produce clones of a plant in a method known as micropropagation. Agitation during tissue culture serves for:

• Aeration of the culture
• Constant Mixing
• Breakage of cell aggregates in small particles