Question

A virus is also known as parasite because it

• A. Harms its host
• B. Cannot reproduce outside its host
• C. Kills its host
• D. Both A and B
  
• E. All of the above

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

All of the above

Association of organisms which benefits one of the partners at the expense of other is called as parasitism. The virus is an acellular organism that harms it host by using host's metabolic machinery for its own replication. Viruses are the obligate parasite as they can not survive outside the host cell. Lytic viruses kill their host cells but lysogenic viruses do not. Thus, the correct answer is option E.