Question

Which of the following genetically engineered organisms was used by Eli Lilly to prepare human insulin?

Options

• Bacterium

• Yeast

• Virus

• Phage

Answer 1

Bacterium

Explanation:

One of the first successful applications of recombinant DNA technology was the production of recombinant human insulin by Eli Lilly using genetically modified bacteria, specifically Escherichia coli. Plasmids containing the genes for the A and B chains of insulin were expressed in different bacterial strains. These were subsequently chemically mixed and purified.