(a) Studying the evolutionary relationships among various species of fauna

(b) Stimulating ‘stem cells’ to transform into diverse functional tissues

(c) Promoting clonal propagation of horticultural plants

(d) Assessing the efficacy of drugs by conducting series of drug trials in a population

3. Ans: a

Explanation:

Microsatellites, also known as Short Tandem Repeats, are short segments of DNA, typically one to six base pairs long, that repeat multiple times at specific genomic locations. These non-coding sequences vary among individuals, making them useful as polymorphic markers for studying inheritance, creating DNA fingerprints, and analyzing genetic diversity. Their unique patterns can be inherited and are valuable for evolutionary studies, pedigree analysis, and understanding population structure.

Hence, option a is correct.

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