NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Viruses do not have independent metabolism, because they do not possess enzyme systems and protein synthesis machinery.

Detailed explanation-2: -Next, all living things have metabolism. Viruses are too small and simple to collect or use their own energy – they just steal it from the cells they infect. Viruses only need energy when they make copies of themselves, and they don’t need any energy at all when they are outside of a cell.

Detailed explanation-3: -Viruses can’t metabolize (break down) food to release energy (carry out respiration) or grow. The only thing that viruses can do is replicate (copy themselves), but to do that they need the help of a living cell.

Detailed explanation-4: -Viruses can infect animals, plants, and even other microorganisms. Since viruses lack metabolic machinery of their own and are totally dependent on their host cell for replication, they cannot be grown in synthetic culture media.

Detailed explanation-5: -Viruses rely entirely on their host as an energy source. Despite numerous experimental studies that demonstrate the capability of viruses to rewire and undermine their host’s metabolism, we still largely lack a quantitative understanding of an infection’s energetics.