Which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. Viruses lack enzymes necessary for the generation of energy.
- 2. Viruses can be cultured in any synthetic medium.
- 3. Viruses are transmitted from one organism to another by biological vectors only.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
1 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2013
Only statement 1 is correct: Viruses lack enzymes necessary for the generation of energy.Statement 1 is correct. Viruses are acellular and obligate intracellular parasites. They do not possess their own metabolic machinery, including enzymes for energy production like respiration or fermentation. They hijack the host cell’s metabolic processes to obtain energy and replicate. Statement 2 is incorrect because viruses require living cells to replicate and cannot be cultured in synthetic non-living media. Statement 3 is incorrect because while biological vectors are one mode of transmission for some viruses, many viruses are transmitted through non-vector means such as direct contact, airborne droplets, contaminated surfaces, food, or water.