Which statement describes a transgenic organism specifically engineered to produce human insulin?

• A. Bacteria engineered to produce human insulin
• B. Yeast engineered to produce human insulin
• C. Plants engineered to produce human insulin
• D. Animals engineered to produce human insulin

Answer: (A)

The concept being tested is how transgenic organisms are created to produce proteins from another species. A transgenic organism carries foreign DNA—in this case, the human insulin gene—and uses its cellular machinery to produce the human protein. Bacteria are the classic and most straightforward host: their cells can be easily modified with a plasmid that carries the human insulin gene, and they rapidly read that gene, translate it into protein, and grow in large quantities. This setup allows scientists to produce substantial amounts of insulin efficiently, which is why bacteria engineered to produce human insulin is the best description of a transgenic organism designed to make this human protein. Yeast, plants, and animals can also be engineered to produce insulin, but the foundational, most widely used example is a bacterial system.