Question

A characteristic of viruses is

• A. Without independent metabolism
• B. With independent metabolism
• C. Multiplication outside living cells
• D. Culture in cell free medium

Answer 1

The correct option is A Without independent metabolism

The virus is an infective agent that consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat. A virus is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host. Viruses lack their own metabolic machinery, so they infect host cells and use the host's machinery to reproduce. They can not multiply outside the living cells. So viruses are called as obligate parasites. They cannot be cultured in the medium due to host dependency. Viruses can be cultured only in living cells.

So, the correct answer is 'Without independent metabolism'.