ASCP Molecular Biology (MB) Technologist Practice Exam

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• How does random priming of DNA identify complementary sequences?
• If the concentration of Mg2+ is too low during PCR, what is the expected outcome?
• What is the role of DNA Polymerase α in eukaryotic DNA replication?
• Which statement defines the amplification control in PCR?
• Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) is used to detect what type of mutational changes?
• Which amplification procedure is characterized by utilizing primers that bind to a sequence of RNA?
• What does pleiotropy refer to in genetics?
• How many loci are considered 'core loci' by the FBI for the Combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS)?
• What is the main role of Pol γ in eukaryotes?
• What is a potential consequence for "poor metabolizers" of codeine due to CYP2D6 activity?
• What single amino acid substitution causes sickle cell anemia?
• What is Herceptin classified as?
• Which of the following is the most common oncogene mutation in human cancers?
• What is the primary role of the sigma factor in RNA polymerase?
• What is one major characteristic of hemoglobinopathies?
• Which of the following techniques is NOT considered a form of signal amplification?
• What is the main purpose of a negative control in molecular biology experiments?
• What type of control ensures that the enzyme is active and the thermal cycler functions properly?
• What does the SDA method primarily utilize for generating exponential amplification?
• Which of the following is NOT an early application of RFLP?
• What gene is measured following treatment with Warfarin?
• What technique can identify mutations like Factor 5 Leiden?
• What does Northern Blotting primarily analyze?
• How does Allele Specific PCR ensure that the PCR is working properly?
• What role does Runx/Runx1 play in the context of AML?
• What range of repeats is considered normal for Huntington's Disease?
• What is another term for a negative control in PCR?
• In pulsed field gel electrophoresis, what is the minimum number of bands that must differ between two organisms for them to be considered unrelated?
• What is a hallmark feature of Patau syndrome?
• What is pyrosequencing primarily used for?
• On which chromosome is the BCL2 gene located?
• What type of changes does MLPA primarily measure?
• What is the primary function of isoschizomers?
• What is another name for restriction enzymes that cut at the same spot?
• Which of the following is a signal amplification method?
• What is the most common file type used in next-generation sequencing (NGS)?
• When PCR amplifies a target DNA sequence, what can be inferred by the number of cycles performed?
• What are the components of the bacterial RNA polymerase holoenzyme?
• True or False: Branched DNA amplification uses alkaline phosphatase to produce an amplified signal.
• What happens to the PCR product if the [Mg2+] concentration is optimal?
• What is the definition of a frameshift mutation?
• What role does Ligase play in Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification?
• In hybrid capture, what is the primary role of alkaline phosphatase?
• What is the main application of Western Blotting in clinical diagnostics?
• What is the purpose of a negative template control (NTC)?
• What is the inheritance pattern of sickle cell anemia?
• How do patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma that have the KRAS mutation respond to anti-EGFR therapy?
• What genetic abnormality is associated with Cri-du-chat syndrome?
• What type of enzymes are used during the first stage of Strand Displacement Amplification (SDA)?
• Which gene mutations confer resistance to the antibiotic isoniazid?
• What type of cancer is primarily associated with the EWSR1 gene fusion?
• What is the impact of a mutation in UGT1A1 on drug metabolism?
• What gene is located at 22q12?
• What is the purpose of an amplification control in PCR?
• In setting up PCR, what is the optimal primer concentration range to minimize nonspecific products?
• What is the genetic cause of Down syndrome?
• The genes vanA, vanB, and vanC confer resistance to which antibiotic?
• Which factor does NOT affect the stringency of probe hybridization?
• Which MHC class is primarily involved in signaling and communication rather than antigen binding?
• How do you remember the prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomal subunits?
• Who does Ewing Sarcoma typically affect?
• Which process is used in conjunction with isothermal amplification in hybrid capture?
• Which chromosomal position is commonly affected in β-thalassemia?
• Which EWSR1 gene fusion accounts for 80% of Ewing sarcoma cases?
• What is the primary method by which MALDI methods separate ions?
• What is a defining characteristic of LCR technology in genetics?
• What type of hybrid is formed in the hybrid capture technique?
• What critical information does a negative template control provide during an experiment?
• What type of malignancy is associated with T-Cell Gene Rearrangement?
• What is the equation for probability of paternity (POP)?
• True or False: Dot blot is a type of solid support hybridization technique.
• What is the definition of heteronuclear RNA (hnRNA)?
• Which amplification method is included in target amplification methods?
• Which probe-based detection system uses a chemically modified probe that does not degrade at the extension step?
• Which of the following statements about PCR phases is accurate?
• At what temperature does the extension phase of PCR typically occur?
• What stringency condition is best for binding when the probe and target do not match 100%?
• What effect can exceeding optimal dNTP concentrations have on PCR?
• What does the abbreviation CMV stand for in the context of hybrid capture?
• What role does KCl play in PCR?
• In PCR reactions, magnesium (often MgCl) acts as a cofactor for which component?
• How many subgroups exist within the MHC family?
• What is Allele Specific PCR primarily used to detect?
• What amino acid substitution occurs in the Factor 5 Leiden mutation?
• What type of diseases can MLPA help diagnose?
• What is a characteristic of type II restriction enzymes?
• Which application was one of the first for LCR technology?
• Which type of organisms contain introns in their genes?
• Which subunit of RNA polymerase holoenzyme is responsible for promoter recognition?
• Which chromosome deletion is characteristic of Williams syndrome?
• What is a consequence of qualitative defects in the hemoglobin molecule?
• What is an alternative method to RFLP for identifying genetic mutations?
• What type of medium is used for Western Blot analysis?
• What chromosome is the immunoglobulin heavy (IgH) chain located on?
• Which oncogene is involved in chronic myeloid leukemia?
• Which of the following DNA polymerases is not found in eukaryotes?
• In which type of blotting is cDNA primarily used as a probe?
• Which gene is overexpressed in mantle cell lymphoma?
• In the study by Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty, what treatment was used to destroy the transforming factor?
• What are the small and large ribosomal subunits for eukaryotes?
• Which of the following is characteristic of Edward's syndrome?
• Which of the following statements is true about MHC-II?
• Do type II Restriction Enzymes possess methylation activity?
• Which process is essential for the identification of human leucocyte antigens (HLA)?
• If the environment is too stringent, what will happen to the probe and target?
• Which subunits compose MHC-I molecules?
• In terms of stringency, what does high temperature and low salt result in?
• If a probe and target are 100% identical, what is the ideal stringency condition for the wash?
• At which wavelength is nucleic acid absorbance highest?
• What type of activity is common in oncogenes such as EGFR and HER2?
• What is the average rate of eukaryotic DNA replication?
• What is the composition of the large ribosome subunit in prokaryotes?
• Which of the following best describes Euchromatin?
• Which type of amplification technique does the Ligase Chain Reaction belong to?
• What is the significance of the gene VKORC1 in pharmacogenetics?
• Whole genome amplification (WGA) is primarily used for which of the following purposes?
• What percentage of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) cases are associated with the Philadelphia chromosome?
• How does RFLP determine differences in DNA sequences?
• In the context of gene expression analysis, which blotting technique is preferred to study mRNA levels?
• What therapy demonstrates effectiveness for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL)?
• What is the primary function of MHC-I molecules?
• How do mutations in the KRAS gene affect its protein?
• Which amplification procedure uses RNA polymerase as a critical component?
• Which of the following DNA polymerases would be mainly involved in lagging strand synthesis in eukaryotes?
• What mechanism is utilized to add labeled nucleotides at the 3' end of DNA?
• What type of polymerases can be used to incorporate labeled nucleotides during elongation?
• What type of cancer is Herceptin (trastuzumab) primarily used to treat?
• How does magnesium enhance the activity of DNA polymerase in PCR?
• What is the significance of K-ras (KRAS) mutations in human cancers?
• What is the nucleotide substitution for the Factor 5 Leiden mutation?
• In a qPCR Amplification plot, where is the threshold set?
• What does the wobble hypothesis explain in molecular biology?
• What is the ideal primer length for PCR amplification?
• What is a known method for performing HLA typing?
• Which cancers are primarily associated with the Philadelphia chromosome (t(9;22))?
• What is the repeat expansion associated with Huntington's Disease?
• Which application is one of the uses of SDS in the laboratory?
• Which two viruses can be detected using hybrid capture alongside HPV?
• What conditions maintain stability for perfectly matched hybrids during hybridization washes?
• Which amplification method would NOT typically be considered isothermal?
• Which termination process in prokaryotes is associated with a hairpin structure?
• Which genes are commonly tested on a prostate cancer panel?
• What is the repeat expansion for fragile X syndrome?
• What molecular technique is primarily used to detect the MecA gene associated with MRSA?
• What does the "c." denote in nucleotide change notation?
• Starting with a single target, how many copies are produced in a PCR reaction after 30 cycles?
• What component must be removed from whole blood specimens to avoid inhibiting DNA polymerase?
• Mutations involving which chromosomal location are associated with Ewing Sarcoma?
• What is a consequence of having a hybridization wash with too low stringency?
• HER-2 and ERBB2 gene products exhibit what type of activity?
• What is the primary use of biotin and digoxigenin in laboratory settings?
• What is the main feature of branched DNA amplification (bDNA)?
• What is the amelogenin gene primarily used for in genetic analysis?
• Which two disorders are the most common hemoglobinopathies?
• Which drug is primarily metabolized by the CYP2D6 enzyme?
• What is the total ribosomal subunit size for prokaryotes?
• What is the recommended final concentration of each dNTP in common PCR applications?
• What is the role of pyrophosphate in pyrosequencing?
• What is the inheritance pattern of Factor V Leiden?
• What technology is utilized to detect point mutations in a target sequence?
• Which gene mutation is NOT associated with Hemochromatosis?
• Which gene's detection is crucial for the rapid identification of MRSA?
• Which type of control contains DNA that lacks the target sequence?
• Which of the following is a common oncogene?
• What are the three main DNA polymerases involved in eukaryotic DNA replication?
• What critical role does the T-Arm (T-Loop) of tRNA play?
• What interaction occurs between MHC-I molecules and CD-8 T cells?
• Thalassemia is characterized by which of the following?
• How many informative polymorphic loci must be found between donor and recipient before a bone marrow transplant?
• How is amplification in a qPCR typically visualized?
• Which type of RNA is involved in splicing introns from pre-mRNA in eukaryotes?
• What are the names of the three subgroups of the MHC family?
• What does ambiguity refer to in immunology?
• What is one example of a point mutation disorder?
• Which of the following is NOT a tumor suppressor gene?
• Which genetic alteration is noted as AML-ETO?
• What does the term hemoglobinopathy refer to?
• What is the primary function of eukaryotic DNA Polymerase ε?
• Which polymerase is responsible for the initiation of DNA replication and has primase activity in eukaryotes?
• What is the significance of using branched DNA amplification?
• What is the translocation associated with follicular lymphoma?
• What is the translocation associated with mantle cell lymphoma?
• What is the recommended dNTP concentration for improving fidelity when using non-proofreading DNA polymerases?
• What is the penetrance of Factor V Leiden?
• Which factor can reduce the availability of dNTPs during PCR?
• What does CLIA stand for?
• Which gene mutation is closely associated with Fragile X syndrome?
• What is the full name of SDS?
• What phase of PCR is analyzed for standard PCR?
• What type of nucleic acid does branched DNA amplification utilize for its signaling mechanism?
• Which of the following describes Tratuzumab (Herceptin)?
• What gene is overexpressed in follicular lymphoma?
• What structural change occurs in sickle cell anemia?
• If the absorbance reading at 260 nm is 2.545 and the dilution factor is 30, what is the concentration of DNA extracted?
• What type of cancer is Ewing Sarcoma?
• What is the rate of DNA translation?
• Which mutations are detected in Factor V Leiden using PCR?
• What type of enzyme is Rho classified as?
• What initiates protein synthesis in cells?
• What is the primary function of Pol α in eukaryotic DNA replication?
• In PCR, the annealing temperature should be...
• Which gene is targeted in molecular assays to quantify HIV in a patient?
• What technique is the basis for the first molecular-based human identification and mapping methods?
• Which DNA polymerase is primarily used in the process of Nick Translation?
• Which polymerase in eukaryotes is known for its involvement in base excision repair?
• In QB replicase, what is the primary target for amplification?
• What increases the half-life of mRNA?
• Which small nuclear RNA is involved in the assembly of spliceosomes?
• What is the main goal of screening polymorphic loci before a bone marrow transplant?
• Which of the following is NOT a component of the core enzyme for bacterial RNA polymerase?
• What equation can be used to determine the concentration of DNA?
• Which of the following accurately describes the use of allele specific primers in PCR?
• What does BCL2 stand for?
• On which chromosome are the human MHC genes located?
• What is the optimal temperature range for polymerase to function during DNA amplification?
• What is the most common soft tissue sarcoma of childhood, accounting for 10% of all solid tumors in children?
• Which gene fusion associated with Rhabdomyosarcoma has the worst prognosis?
• Which of the following is a form of epigenetic alteration?
• What is one of the probe amplification methods?
• What happens if the annealing temperature is too high during PCR?
• What is the role of rho factor in transcription?
• What is the wobble effect in relation to tRNA?
• What is the absorbance wavelength associated with phenol?
• Which oncogene is associated with the Philadelphia chromosome?
• What is the nature of the DNA sequencing technology known as pyrosequencing?
• What is one application of allele specific PCR in genetic testing?
• What can be inferred if two isolates of Escherichia coli have two differences in their banding patterns?
• Which enzyme is considered the main polymerizing enzyme for both leading and lagging strands?
• In organic DNA isolation, where is the DNA located after separation?
• What characteristic of the wobble hypothesis allows for genetic variation?
• What is the name of the major histocompatibility complex genes found in humans?
• Which of the following is not a use for spectrophotometry?
• What is the annealing temperature range for PCR?
• What is the purpose of mixing isolated DNA with ethanol post-isolation?
• What is the main application of Strand Displacement Amplification (SDA)?
• What effect does SDS have on cell membranes in laboratory procedures?
• In spectrophotometric analysis, what does the pKa value relate to?
• Which technique utilizes both immobilized probes and signal amplification for detecting nucleic acids?
• A control without DNA that ensures the reaction mix is not contaminated with template DNA is called a _______________ control?
• Which molecule is primarily bound by labeled monoclonal antibodies in hybrid capture?
• Which term describes chromatin that is transcriptionally active?
• What could be the issue if there is little to no PCR product at the end of a PCR run related to annealing temperature?
• Which DNA polymerase is considered the main replicative enzyme in eukaryotes?
• What is the main characteristic of isothermal amplification procedures?
• Before a bone marrow transplant, what is screened between donor and recipient cells?
• What is the function of DNA Polymerase δ in eukaryotes?
• What is the outcome predicted for patients with the t(16;16) genetic alteration?
• Mass spectrometry is used to measure the ratio of what two properties of molecules?
• What type of RNA undergoes splicing to remove introns?
• Which of the following is NOT a common single gene disorder?
• What blood disorder is caused by the abnormal hemoglobin that damages red blood cells?
• In fragile X syndrome, what is the number of repeats for a full mutation?
• What probe is utilized in a Southern Blot technique?
• What is the typical denaturation temperature in a PCR reaction?
• How many RNA polymerases do eukaryotes have?
• Which of the following is used to detect captured hybrids in hybrid capture assays?
• What is the expected output from a Southern Blot experiment?
• Which form of chromatin is typically associated with transcriptional inactivity?
• What is the significance of the inv(16) genetic alteration?
• After a bone marrow transplant, which virus are patients particularly susceptible to?
• What initiates protein synthesis in the cell?
• Which three gene mutations are associated with Hemochromatosis?
• How does heterochromatin differ from euchromatin?
• Which of the following oncogenes have tyrosine kinase activity?
• What does 'star activity' refer to in the context of restriction enzymes?
• What is the primary function of DNA polymerase δ (delta)?
• What is the primary purpose of Southern Blotting?
• Which enzyme is specifically used in MLPA that is not utilized in regular PCR procedures?
• What is the main purpose of allele-specific PCR methods?
• Which of the following is NOT a method used to label a DNA probe?
• What is the result of the actions taken during the primer annealing phase in LCR?
• What is the gene fusion involved in the chromosomal abnormality found in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL)?
• Which of the following is detected by a Western Blot?
• What can minor histocompatibility antigens (mHags) cause after a transplant?
• In PCR, which phase follows annealing?
• How many RNA polymerases do prokaryotes possess?
• A mutation in the MTHFR gene affects the metabolism of which vitamin?
• Which sera are utilized in crossmatching for organ transplants?
• How can one resolve issues with too low of an annealing temperature in PCR leading to nonspecific product?
• What formula is used to calculate the percentage of remaining recipient cells after a transplant?
• What potential issue arises when using non-proofreading DNA polymerases with high dNTP concentrations?
• What is the function of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs)?
• What enzyme is primarily associated with QB replicase technology for amplification?
• What is one characteristic of random priming in DNA particularly advantageous for hybridization?
• What chromosomal abnormality is associated with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL)?
• What distinguishes males from females in the context of the amelogenin locus?
• What is the primary use of Southern Blot in forensic analysis?
• What role does the Beta subunit of Prokaryotic DNA Pol III serve?
• For which condition would a lack of binding occur between probe and target during hybridization?
• Gene mecA provides Staphylococcus aureus resistance to which antibiotics?
• What is the role of RNase H in DNA-RNA hybrids?
• What is the role of DNA Polymerase γ in eukaryotes?
• What is the impact of unable to cleave factor Va due to the Factor V Leiden mutation?
• What are hemoglobinopathies primarily characterized by?
• Why is it essential to include a negative control in a PCR setup?
• Which vitamin deficiency is identified through elevated homocysteine levels in blood tests?
• What is the function of microRNAs in gene expression?
• Is the statement true or false: Hybrid capture is primarily utilized for the detection and characterization of HPV types?
• What is the disease associated with the translocation t(8;14)?
• What type of leukemia is associated with the genetic alteration t(8;21)?
• How does a high concentration of Mg2+ affect PCR product outcomes?
• What is the absorptivity constant of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA)?
• What is a key characteristic of Rho-independent termination?
• Which type of hybridization is involved in the detection of RNA:DNA hybrids?
• What is the main function of a contamination control in molecular biology?
• Which subunit of bacterial RNA polymerase is responsible for the initiation of RNA synthesis?
• What is the typical consequence of a frameshift mutation?
• Approximately how many polymorphisms can be found in the human genome?
• On which chromosome is the HER2 and ERBB2 gene located?
• Which polymerase primarily performs bulk polymerization during DNA replication in eukaryotes?
• What determines the optimal binding conditions of a probe and target during hybridization?