Virus Structure: Capsid & Capsomeres — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2014In addition to proteins, viruses also contain genetic material, that could be either RNA or DNA. No virus contains both RNA and DNA. A virus is a nucleoprotein and the genetic material is infectious. 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. The protein coat called capsid made of small subunits called capsomeres, protects the nucleic acid. These capsomeres are arranged in helical or polyhedral geometric forms. Viruses cause diseases like mumps, small pox, herpes and influenza. AIDS in humans is also caused by a virus. In plants, the symptoms can be mosaic formation, leaf rolling and curling, yellowing
NTA tests understanding of virus architecture, specifically that the capsid (protein coat) is made of subunits called capsomeres arranged in helical or polyhedral shapes. The capsid's role is to protect the nucleic acid (genetic material). Students often confuse capsomeres with the capsid itself—remember, capsomeres are the building blocks, while capsid is the complete protective structure. A critical point: viruses contain EITHER RNA OR DNA, never both. This concept appears in classification questions asking students to identify virus components or distinguish viral structures from cellular organelles. Knowing that bacteriophages are typically double-stranded DNA viruses while plant viruses usually have single-stranded RNA helps answer identification questions correctly.
Which of the following shows coiled RNA strand and capsomeres? AIPMT 2014
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