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Question

Difficulty: EasyHealth, Nutrition, and Disease

Unlike bacteria, which possess their own cellular machinery to grow and divide independently, what do viruses require in order to replicate?

  1. A
    An extracellular nutrient broth
  2. A living host cellAnswer
  3. C
    Direct exposure to sunlight
  4. D
    Continuous absorption of dietary minerals

Answer

A living host cell is required for viral replication.
Viruses consist primarily of genetic material enclosed within a protein coat and lack independent metabolic machinery. Consequently, they must infect a living host cell and utilize the host's enzymes, ribosomes, and energy to replicate genetic material and assemble new viral particles.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the biological nature of viruses compared to cellular pathogens.
Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites lacking ribosomes, metabolic enzymes, and cellular membranes.
Understanding the structural differences between bacteria and viruses determines their reproductive mechanisms.
2
Determine the necessary condition for a virus to assemble new particles.
The virus must attach to, enter, and hijack the biosynthetic machinery of a living host cell.
Without a host cell's protein synthesis and replication machinery, a virus remains an inert particle.

Key Concept

Obligate intracellular nature of viruses versus independent bacterial replication
Estimated Time:40s
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Topics

Health, Nutrition, and Disease

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