Question

At what stage does the nematode ingest the dsRNA produced in the transgenic tobacco plant?

Options

• When nematode eggs are in soil

• During nematode mating

• When nematodes are in water

• During nematode feeding on the transgenic plant's roots

Answer 1

When the nematode feeds on the transgenic plant's roots, it ingests the dsRNA that has been produced in the plant's cells. This ingestion is critical to the mechanism, as the dsRNA must enter the nematode to trigger the RNAi process against the nematode's own genes.