Recent advances and challenges in marine drug research MCQs With Answer

Recent advances and challenges in marine drug research MCQs With Answer

This collection of multiple-choice questions is designed for M.Pharm students studying Advanced Pharmacognosy I (MPG 102T). It focuses on recent technological advances — such as genome mining, metabolomics, molecular networking (GNPS), single-cell and metagenomic approaches — and real-world challenges including sustainable supply, cultivation of uncultured microbes, complex synthetic routes, and legal/ethical frameworks like the Nagoya Protocol. Questions emphasize practical applications (heterologous expression, synthetic biology, dereplication) and examples of approved marine-derived drugs, testing both conceptual understanding and applied problem-solving skills necessary for contemporary marine natural product research.

Q1. Which marine source has been recognized recently as a prolific origin of bioactive natural products due to its diverse microbial symbionts?

• Free-living marine algae only
• Marine sponges and their microbial symbionts
• Pelagic fish gut microbiota exclusively
• Deep-sea hydrothermal vent fish

Correct Answer: Marine sponges and their microbial symbionts

Q2. Which approved marine-derived drug is a potent analgesic derived from a cone snail peptide?

• Trabectedin (Yondelis)
• Ziconotide (ω-conotoxin MVIIA)
• Eribulin (Halaven)
• Aplidin (Plitidepsin)

Correct Answer: Ziconotide (ω-conotoxin MVIIA)

Q3. What computational/analytical platform is widely used today for dereplication and visualization of MS/MS spectral relationships across datasets?

• antiSMASH genome browser
• GNPS molecular networking
• BLAST protein alignment
• KEGG pathway mapper

Correct Answer: GNPS molecular networking

Q4. Which bioinformatics tool is primarily used to predict biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) from microbial genome sequences?

• MetFrag
• antiSMASH
• MS-DIAL
• STRING

Correct Answer: antiSMASH

Q5. Which experimental strategy is effective for activating cryptic or silent biosynthetic gene clusters in marine microorganisms?

• High-dose antibiotic treatment only
• Co-culture and epigenetic modulation
• Exposure to sunlight for prolonged periods
• Serial dilution plating on minimal media exclusively

Correct Answer: Co-culture and epigenetic modulation

Q6. Which of the following remains a primary translational challenge for marine natural products progressing to clinical development?

• Excessively simple molecular scaffolds
• Limited sustainable supply and complex total synthesis
• Too many human safety data from preclinical studies
• Abundance of low-cost large-scale fermentation methods

Correct Answer: Limited sustainable supply and complex total synthesis

Q7. Which microbial host is frequently chosen for heterologous expression of large marine polyketide or nonribosomal peptide gene clusters?

• Escherichia coli only
• Streptomyces species
• Human HEK293 cells
• Vibrio fischeri exclusively

Correct Answer: Streptomyces species

Q8. Which analytical platform is most suitable for high-resolution metabolomics and structural dereplication of complex marine extracts?

• GC-FID without MS
• LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics
• Paper chromatography
• UV–Vis spectrophotometry alone

Correct Answer: LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics

Q9. Eribulin (Halaven) is a clinically approved anticancer agent derived from which marine natural product class or precursor?

• Synthetic peptide unrelated to marine sources
• Halichondrin B (a sponge-derived macrolide precursor)
• Dinoflagellate saxitoxin derivatives
• Marine algal polysaccharide

Correct Answer: Halichondrin B (a sponge-derived macrolide precursor)

Q10. How does chemical ecology contribute to prioritizing organisms for marine drug discovery?

• By predicting only nutritional components of organisms
• By identifying organisms that produce ecological bioactive metabolites used for defense or signaling
• By eliminating all organisms that live in symbiosis
• By cataloging only pigment molecules

Correct Answer: By identifying organisms that produce ecological bioactive metabolites used for defense or signaling

Q11. Which international instrument primarily governs access and benefit-sharing for genetic resources within national jurisdictions relevant to marine bioprospecting?

• The Paris Agreement
• The Nagoya Protocol
• The Montreal Protocol
• The Basel Convention

Correct Answer: The Nagoya Protocol

Q12. Which cutting-edge approach enables genomic analysis of individual uncultured marine microbial cells to link taxonomic identity with biosynthetic potential?

• Bulk shotgun metagenomics only
• Single-cell genomics and single-cell amplified genomes (SAGs)
• Traditional culture-based taxonomy alone
• Environmental scanning electron microscopy

Correct Answer: Single-cell genomics and single-cell amplified genomes (SAGs)

Q13. What technological advance has most improved throughput and reduced reagent costs for functional screening of marine microbes and extracts?

• Large-format petri-dish assays only
• Microfluidics and droplet-based high-throughput screening
• Manual 96-well pipetting without automation
• Paper-based assays exclusively

Correct Answer: Microfluidics and droplet-based high-throughput screening

Q14. A common limitation of bioassay-guided fractionation in marine natural product discovery is:

• Absolute elimination of known compounds by default
• Risk of repeatedly rediscovering known compounds (dereplication failure)
• Inability to detect any cytotoxic compounds
• Guaranteed success in scaling up production

Correct Answer: Risk of repeatedly rediscovering known compounds (dereplication failure)

Q15. Which synthetic chemistry challenge often hinders the scalable total synthesis of complex marine natural products?

• Low stereochemical complexity
• High stereochemical complexity and fragile functional groups
• Excess of commercially available starting materials
• Simplicity of the macrocyclization steps

Correct Answer: High stereochemical complexity and fragile functional groups

Q16. What is a principal advantage of genome mining in marine drug discovery?

• It eliminates the need for any chemical analysis
• It predicts novel biosynthetic gene clusters and guides targeted compound discovery
• It guarantees immediate large-scale production of compounds
• It focuses only on known secondary metabolites

Correct Answer: It predicts novel biosynthetic gene clusters and guides targeted compound discovery

Q17. Plitidepsin (Aplidin), investigated for antiviral and anticancer activity, is originally isolated from which marine source?

• Marine sponge species of genus Halichondria
• Tunicate (ascidian) of the genus Aplidium
• Deep-sea bacterium from hydrothermal vents
• Brown macroalgae of the genus Laminaria

Correct Answer: Tunicate (ascidian) of the genus Aplidium

Q18. Which integrative approach links genomic biosynthetic predictions to observed metabolites by correlating BGC presence with LC-MS features?

• Proteomics-only workflows
• Metabologenomics (integrating genomics and metabolomics)
• Classical pharmacognosy without instrumentation
• Radioimmunoassay-based mapping

Correct Answer: Metabologenomics (integrating genomics and metabolomics)

Q19. Beyond technical obstacles, which social/legal issue increasingly impacts marine drug discovery projects?

• Universal free access to all genetic resources without consent
• Access and benefit-sharing obligations with source countries and indigenous communities
• Complete absence of intellectual property concerns
• Guaranteed government funding for all marine bioprospecting

Correct Answer: Access and benefit-sharing obligations with source countries and indigenous communities

Q20. Which future direction is expected to accelerate marine drug discovery and scalable production of marine natural products?

• Abandoning synthetic biology in favor of pure wild harvesting
• Synthetic biology combined with AI-driven pathway design and optimization
• Exclusive reliance on random traditional extraction methods
• Stopping genomic sequencing of marine microbes

Correct Answer: Synthetic biology combined with AI-driven pathway design and optimization

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