Virology Questions and Answers – Discovery, Development, Multiplication, and Properties of Virus

This set of Virology Interview Questions and Answers focuses on “Discovery, Development, Multiplication, and Properties of Virus”.

1. Who discovered viruses?
a) Beijerinck
b) Iwanowski
c) Twort
d) Ellerman
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Dmitri Iwanowski, in the year 1892, discovered the viruses. He found the causal agent of mosaic disease of the tobacco plant which caused the discoloration of the leaf. He was one of the founders of virology.

2. Who reported the cell-free transmission of chicken leukemia?
a) Ellerman and Bang
b) Loeffler and Frosch
c) Iwanowski and Beijerinck
d) Twort and Bang
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: Ellerman and Bang, in the year 1908, reported the cell-free transmission of chicken leukemia whereas Rous in 1911 discovered that the solid tumors of chicken could be transmitted by cell-free filtrates. These were the first indications or observations that the viruses can be carcinogenic.

3. The bacteriophages were discovered by ____________
a) Beijerinck
b) Iwanowski
c) Twort
d) Ellerman
View Answer

Answer: c
Explanation: The bacteriophages or bacterial viruses were discovered by Frederick William Twort in 1915. The bacteriophages are the viruses that infect, multiply, and then finally kill the bacteria.
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4. The one-step growth curve was used to study ____________
a) the development of viral assays
b) the discovery of viruses
c) the multiplication of viruses
d) the origin of viruses
View Answer

Answer: c
Explanation: The one-step growth curve was used to study the multiplication cycle of viruses in a host organism or bacteria. The experiment was performed by Ellis and Delbruck in 1939 where a bacteriophage lambda was mixed in a suspension of Escherichia coli and the multiplication of virus was studied.

5. Which of the following is not the phase of the one-step growth curve?
a) Eclipse phase
b) Maturation phase
c) Latent phase
d) Luteal phase
View Answer

Answer: d
Explanation: There are three phases of one-step growth curve: eclipse phase, maturation phase, and latent phase. Whereas, the luteal phase is the phase of the menstrual cycle.
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6. Which of the following phase measures the period before the infectious virus is released into the medium?
a) Eclipse phase
b) Luteal phase
c) Latent phase
d) Maturation phase
View Answer

Answer: c
Explanation: The latent phase measures the period before the infectious virus is released from the cells into the medium. During the eclipse phase, the infectivity of the cell-associated infecting virus is lost as it uncoats and during the maturation phase, infectious virus is assembled inside the cells.

7. Who isolated TMV in paracrystalline form?
a) Stanley
b) Bawden
c) Pirie
d) Schlessinger
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: Stanley, in the year 1935, isolated the tobacco mosaic virus or TMV in paracrystalline form. Schlessinger purified the virus by using differential centrifugation, Bawden and Pirie purified TMV and showed it to be containing ribonucleic acid (RNA).
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8. The genetic material of bacteriophage T2 is __________
a) RNA
b) DNA
c) Carbohydrate
d) Protein
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: The genetic material of bacteriophage T2 is DNA and the evidence of DNA as genetic material was given by Hershey-Chase experiment.

9. Viruses do not have a protein coat.
a) True
b) False
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Viruses have the protein coat whereas viroids are the agents that have no protein coat. They are smaller than viruses and are composed of a short strand of circular, single-stranded RNA.
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10. Which of the following phase determines the specificity of the virus?
a) Penetration
b) Attachment
c) Release
d) Uncoating
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: The attachment phase determines the specificity of the virus for a particular type of host species. Once the attachment is done, it is followed by penetration, uncoating, biosynthesis, assembly and finally, the release of phage particles.

11. Virus possesses spikes composed of carbohydrates.
a) True
b) False
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Viruses possess projections called spikes made of glycoproteins which have enzymatic activity and are highly antigenic and arise from the envelope.

Sanfoundry Global Education & Learning Series – Virology.

To practice all areas of Virology for Interviews, here is complete set of 1000+ Multiple Choice Questions and Answers.

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Manish Bhojasia - Founder & CTO at Sanfoundry
Manish Bhojasia, a technology veteran with 20+ years @ Cisco & Wipro, is Founder and CTO at Sanfoundry. He lives in Bangalore, and focuses on development of Linux Kernel, SAN Technologies, Advanced C, Data Structures & Alogrithms. Stay connected with him at LinkedIn.

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