Question

Which character favors the nonliving nature of viruses?
(A)Absence of RNA
(B)Absence of nucleus
(C)Abiotic state
(D)Ability of reversible crystallization

Answer 1

Viruses are the agents which produce the infection through both living and non living features and infect the animals, plants and other microorganisms. Bacteriophages are those viruses which infect the bacteria and mycophages are those which infect fungi also there are virophages which infect viruses.

Complete answer:
1.Viruses are ultramicroscopic organisms which produce disease.
2.They have two important features of the living system: Presence of nucleic acid serves as the genetic material and the ability to make their own copies.
3.There is no cellular system and no metabolic pathway of their own.
4.They are only intracellular parasites as they are not active outside the host.
5.They can be existing in crystallized form and retain their infectivity in that form also.
6.Wendall Stanley was the first to purify and crystallize a plant virus called Tobacco Mosaic
7.Virus (TMV) and he found out that in crystalline form the virus has the ability to infect. It shows that viruses have a non-living nature.

Hence the correct answer is option(D)

Note: Viruses consisting of: (i) the genetic material that is molecules of DNA or RNA (ii) a protein coat, the capsid,(iii) an outside envelope of lipids.
The shapes of virus particles are simple helical and icosahedral forms to more complex structures. Some of the viruses have the virions size that is too small to be seen under the optical microscope.