Which statement accurately describes viruses?

Which statement accurately describes viruses?

• A. They are prokaryotes with a nucleus separated from cytoplasm
• B. They reproduce independently and metabolize on their own
• C. They depend on host cells for reproduction and metabolism
• D. They are always larger than bacteria

Answer: (C)

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites: they cannot reproduce or carry out metabolism on their own. Outside a living cell, they are just inert particles made of genetic material wrapped in a protein coat, sometimes with a lipid envelope. To multiply, they must infect a host cell and hijack that cell’s machinery—its enzymes, ribosomes, nucleotides, and energy—so the host does the work of transcription and translation to produce viral components. Because replication and metabolism depend entirely on a host, viruses aren’t independent life forms. They aren’t prokaryotes; they lack a cellular structure and a nucleus, and they’re generally much smaller than bacteria, not larger.

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites: they cannot reproduce or carry out metabolism on their own. Outside a living cell, they are just inert particles made of genetic material wrapped in a protein coat, sometimes with a lipid envelope. To multiply, they must infect a host cell and hijack that cell’s machinery—its enzymes, ribosomes, nucleotides, and energy—so the host does the work of transcription and translation to produce viral components. Because replication and metabolism depend entirely on a host, viruses aren’t independent life forms. They aren’t prokaryotes; they lack a cellular structure and a nucleus, and they’re generally much smaller than bacteria, not larger.