Chapter 12: Designing biological circuits #

1. What are the characteristics of the bow-tie or hour-glass structure?

   a. Existence of core central metabolism
   b. Presence of conserved pathways for catabolism and anabolism
   c. Presence of diverse linear pathways for catabolism and anabolism
   d. Existence of diverse central metabolism

   Ans: a, c

2. Which of the following strategy can be employed to build a non-retroactive system?

   a. Build a system in such a way that the system is accounted for retro-activity
   b. Remove a module from the system if the system alters when that specific module is changed
   c. Inclusion of additional circuit into the system to minimize the interference

   Ans: a, c

3. Which of the following can be used as genetic devices to build synthetic biological circuits?

   a. Toggle switches
   b. Repressilator
   c. Signalling cascades
   d. All of the above

   Ans: d

4. What is the number of topologies possible for a 4-node network, given that every pair of nodes have three different types of interactions, activation, repression and no effect?

   \( a. 3^{(4^{3})} \)
   \( b. 2^{(4^{3})} \)
   \( c. 3^{(4^{2})} \)
   \( d. 4^{(2^{3})} \)

   Ans: c

5. Select the examples governing robustness due to the redundancy principle
   i. Synthetic lethals
   ii. Gene duplication
   iii. Feedback loops
   iv. Isozyme expression
   v. Compartmentalization

   a. i, ii, iv
   b. ii, iii, iv, v
   c. iii, v
   d. i, ii, iii, iv

   Ans: a