EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Viruses are smaller and simpler in construction than unicellular microorganisms, and they contain only one type of nucleic acid-either DNA or RNA-never both.

Detailed explanation-2: -These require the host cellular machinery to replicate and propagate their infection. The genetic material in viruses is either RNA or DNA. It is not possible for a virus to contain both RNA and DNA. This is because (biologically speaking), there doesn’t seem to be any need for it.

Detailed explanation-3: -DNA and RNA viruses Unlike cells (e.g. bacteria, plant and animal cells), viruses contain either DNA or RNA, never both; the viral nucleic acid is either single or double stranded.

Detailed explanation-4: -Viruses, on the other hand, have genomes, or genetic material, that can be composed of DNA or RNA (but not both).

Detailed explanation-5: -No virus contains both RNA and DNA. In general, viruses that infect plants have single stranded RNA and viruses that infect animals have either single or double stranded RNA or double stranded DNA. Bacterial viruses or bacteriophages (viruses that infect the bacteria) are usually double stranded DNA viruses.