UPHESC Assistant Professor Botany 2025 PYQs

Concept: 15 cm (= 15 map units/cM) means 15% of her gametes are recombinant. Because she got the two dominant alleles from different parents, she carries them in repulsion (trans): C p / c P.

1. Her gametes: parental C p 42.5%, c P 42.5%; recombinant C P 7.5%, c p 7.5%.
2. Husband (c p / c p) gives only c p.
3. A child with both cataracts and polydactyly must get the recombinant C P gamete → probability = 15%/2 = 7.5%.
4. 7.5% is not among the options (42.5% is the chance of cataract alone or polydactyly alone), so as printed no option is correct – the question is treated as a bonus.

Short trick: Trans heterozygote: 'both traits' needs a crossover → RF/2.

Concept: Clamp connections maintain the dikaryotic (n + n) condition in secondary mycelium of Basidiomycetes.

1. During conjugate division of the two nuclei a hook-like clamp forms at the septum, passing one daughter nucleus into the sub-terminal cell.
2. Thus each cell keeps two genetically different nuclei – a hallmark of Basidiomycetes (e.g. Agaricus, Polyporus).
3. The analogous structure in Ascomycetes is the crozier (ascus hook) formed only before ascus formation; Deuteromycetes and Chytrids lack clamps.

Short trick: Clamp – Basidio; Crozier – Asco.

Concept: Neottia nidus-avis is the classic 'bird's nest orchid' – a non-green, mycoheterotrophic orchid.

1. nidus-avis literally means 'nest of a bird' – its mass of short, thick, interwoven roots looks like a bird's nest.
2. It lacks chlorophyll and gets food from mycorrhizal fungi (often cited as a 'saprophytic angiosperm' with Monotropa).
3. Spiranthes spiralis – autumn lady's tresses; Orchis morio – green-winged orchid; Listera ovata – common twayblade (all green).

Short trick: nidus = nest, avis = bird → Neottia nidus-avis.

Concept: In Takhtajan's Flowering Plants (2009), subclass Lamiidae runs Gentiananae → Solananae → Lamianae.

1. Order Gentianales opens with Rubiaceae, and ends with Apocynaceae (incl. Asclepiadaceae).
2. Then Solanales – Solanaceae.
3. Then Lamiales – Acanthaceae (with Lamiaceae, Verbenaceae etc.).
4. Order: Rubiaceae → Apocynaceae → Solanaceae → Acanthaceae = III, II, IV, I.

Short trick: R-A-S-A: Rubi → Apocy → Solan → Acanth.

Concept: Arrange by year of publication.

1. A. P. de Candolle – Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, 1813 (natural system).
2. Bentham & Hooker – Genera Plantarum, 1862–1883 (natural system).
3. Engler & Prantl – Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, 1887–1915 (first phylogenetic).
4. Hutchinson – Families of Flowering Plants, 1926/1934 (revised 1959, 1973).

Short trick: D-B-E-H: de Candolle → Bentham-Hooker → Engler → Hutchinson.

Concept: Gnetum is the most angiosperm-like gymnosperm.

1. a ✔ – its shoot apex shows a distinct tunica–corpus organisation, as in angiosperms.
2. b ✔ – the female gametophyte is tetrasporic (all four megaspore nuclei take part) and free-nuclear at fertilization, like tetrasporic embryo sacs.
3. c ✔ – the embryo has two cotyledons (dicotyledonous).
4. d ✘ – the zygote of Gnetum does not undergo free-nuclear division (it forms suspensor tubes directly), and angiosperm zygotes do not either; free-nuclear proembryo is a feature of other gymnosperms (Cycas, Pinus, Ephedra).

Short trick: Gnetum: vessels, tunica-corpus, tetrasporic, 2 cotyledons, no free-nuclear proembryo.

Concept: Leaf-lamina terms are of separate kinds: shape, margin, apex, base.

1. Shape: acicular (needle-like, Pinus), oblanceolate (lance-shaped, broadest above middle), ovate (egg-shaped, broadest below middle).
2. Margin: entire (smooth, Mangifera) and serrate (saw-toothed, Rosa, Hibiscus).
3. So a, b, c describe shape; d and e describe margin.

Short trick: Shape = outline (acicular, ovate…); Margin = edge (entire, serrate…).

Concept: Vavilov (1926, 1951) recognised 8 main centres (with sub-centres) and counted the crop species originating in each.

1. Indian (Hindustan) centre with its Indo-Malayan sub-centre: 117 + 55 = 172 species (rice, sugarcane, banana, citrus, mango, pulses…).
2. Mediterranean ≈ 84, Near East (Asia Minor) ≈ 83, South American (Peru-Ecuador-Bolivia + Chiloe + Brazil-Paraguay) ≈ 79.
3. Only the Chinese centre (136) is comparable, and it is not an option – so the Indo-Malay centre has the greatest diversity among these.

Short trick: Vavilov ranking: China & India–Indo-Malaya top the list.

Concept: Arrange the landmark discoveries chronologically.

1. Leeuwenhoek – polyembryony in Citrus seeds, 1719.
2. Strasburger – syngamy (male gamete fusing with egg) in angiosperms, 1884.
3. Nawaschin – double fertilization in Lilium and Fritillaria, 1898 (Guignard independently 1899).
4. Guha & Maheshwari – haploid plants from anther culture of Datura innoxia, 1964.

Short trick: 1719 → 1884 → 1898 → 1964: L-S-N-G.

Concept: CV = (SD ÷ mean) × 100.

1. CV = (4 ÷ 20) × 100
2. = 0.2 × 100 = 20%.

Short trick: Divide SD by mean, then ×100.

Concept: Match each disease with its causal organism.

1. Citrus canker – bacterium Xanthomonas citri (a – III).
2. Green ear (downy mildew) of bajra – Sclerospora graminicola (b – IV).
3. Yellow vein mosaic / vein clearing of bhindi – a begomovirus (Bhendi/Hibiscus yellow vein mosaic virus) spread by whitefly (c – II).
4. Rust of linseed – Melampsora lini (printed as 'Melanospora lini') (d – I).

Short trick: Canker–Xantho, Green ear–Sclero, Bhindi–whitefly virus, Linseed rust–Melampsora.

Concept: Each major system was built on an earlier one.

1. Bentham & Hooker (1862–83) – a natural system modelled on de Candolle's (a – I).
2. Engler & Prantl (1887–1915) – elaborated Eichler's (1883) system (b – III).
3. Hutchinson (1926, 1959) – based on Bessey's 'dicta' (Ranalian, woody vs herbaceous lines) (c – II).
4. Takhtajan – very similar to Cronquist's system; both derive from the Magnoliid (Ranalian) concept and were developed in parallel (d – IV).

Short trick: B&H←de Candolle, Engler←Eichler, Hutchinson←Bessey, Takhtajan≈Cronquist.

Concept: Wheat has three rusts, each by a different Puccinia species.

1. Black (stem) rust – Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici (printed 'graminicola') (a – II).
2. Yellow (stripe) rust – P. striiformis (b – IV).
3. Brown (leaf) rust – P. recondita (= P. triticina) (c – I).
4. Red rot of sugarcane – Colletotrichum falcatum (d – III); it is a rot, not a rust, but it is the only fungus left.

Short trick: Black–graminis, Yellow–striiformis, Brown–recondita; Sugarcane red rot–Colletotrichum.

Concept: Multiple-factor hypothesis (Nilsson-Ehle, East) + Fisher (1918): V_P = V_G + V_E.

1. I ✔ – quantitative traits are controlled by many genes with small additive effects, plus environment.
2. II ✔ – Fisher partitioned phenotypic variance into genetic (additive, dominance, epistatic) and environmental parts.
3. III ✘ – Fisher showed quantitative traits follow Mendelian genes; not solely environmental.
4. IV ✘ – V_T = V_g only if V_e = 0, which is never 'always' true (heritability would always be 1).

Short trick: V_P = V_G + V_E – both parts always count.

Concept: Identify the plant, then its family.

1. Pimpinella anisum – aniseed (saunf-like spice), Apiaceae/Umbelliferae (a – II).
2. Trigonella foenum-graecum – fenugreek (methi), Fabaceae–Papilionaceae (b – IV).
3. Emblica officinalis (Phyllanthus emblica) – amla, Euphorbiaceae (now Phyllanthaceae) (c – I).
4. Elettaria cardamomum – small cardamom, Zingiberaceae (d – III).

Short trick: Anise–Umbel, Methi–Pea, Amla–Euphorb, Elaichi–Ginger.

Concept: Skoog and Miller (1957), working with tobacco pith callus, showed hormonal control of organogenesis.

1. High auxin : cytokinin → roots (rhizogenesis).
2. High cytokinin : auxin → shoots/buds (caulogenesis).
3. Intermediate/balanced ratio → undifferentiated callus growth.
4. O₂, CO₂, GA and ethylene only modify, not decide, the root/shoot fate.

Short trick: Auxin → Root; Cytokinin → Shoot (A-R, C-S).

Concept: Palynology (Hyde & Williams, 1944) studies pollen and spores – living and fossil.

1. I ✔ – fossil pollen in peat/lake sediments reconstructs past vegetation and climate (palaeoclimatology, pollen diagrams).
2. II ✔ – pollen/spore records trace the developmental (evolutionary) history of plant groups, and pollen ontogeny is itself a core topic.
3. IV ✔ – pollen viability, fertility and compatibility tests guide hybridisation in crop breeding.
4. III – 'adaptability of plants' is judged by physiological/ecological trials, not by pollen study – so I, II and IV.

Short trick: Palynology: past climate, plant history, breeding (compatibility) – plus honey, forensics, allergy, oil exploration.

Concept: From Chytrids/Zygomycetes to Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes the trends are: septation, dikaryon, loss of sex organs, symbioses.

1. 2 ✔ – lower fungi have coenocytic (aseptate) hyphae; Asco- and Basidiomycetes have septate hyphae.
2. 3 ✔ – a dikaryotic phase appears in Ascomycetes (ascogenous hyphae) and dominates the life cycle in Basidiomycetes.
3. 4 ✔ – ectomycorrhizae are formed mainly by advanced Basidiomycetes (and some Ascomycetes) with forest trees.
4. 1 ✘ – in advanced fungi gametes/sex organs are progressively lost (gametangial contact → somatogamy); isogamy → oogamy is the trend of algae/Oomycetes, not of the advanced true fungi.

Short trick: Advanced fungus = septate + dikaryotic + mycorrhizal + somatogamous.

Concept: The question asks for traits that Chlorophyta possess and that set them apart from red algae.

1. 1 ✔ – green algae have chlorophyll a + b (like land plants); red algae have chlorophyll a (+ d) only.
2. 2 ✔ – green algae store true starch inside the plastid around pyrenoids; red algae store floridean starch in the cytoplasm.
3. 3 ✘ – phycobilins (phycoerythrin, phycocyanin) are the hallmark of Rhodophyta, not Chlorophyta.
4. 4 ✘ – absence of motile (flagellate) stages is again a Rhodophyta trait; green algae have flagellate zoospores/gametes.

Short trick: Green: chl a+b, starch in pyrenoid, flagella. Red: phycobilins, floridean starch, no flagella.

Concept: Paraquat (methyl viologen) is a PS I electron diverter.

1. It accepts electrons from the Fe–S centres/ferredoxin on the acceptor side of PS I, so NADP⁺ is not reduced.
2. The reduced paraquat radical gives the electron to O₂ → superoxide → H₂O₂/OH· that destroy membranes (rapid desiccation).
3. DCMU/atrazine/diuron block PS II → plastoquinone (Q_B site); rotenone acts on mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase–ubiquinone.

Short trick: Paraquat steals at PS I; DCMU blocks at PS II.