Question

Viral capsid is made of
(a) Carbohydrates
(b) Lipid
(c) Protein
(d) All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Viruses are microscopic infectious agents that live inside the living cells of an organism and replicate there. They infect all types of life form which includes bacteria and archaea. They may be either enveloped or naked.

Complete answer:
Viruses are the infectious intracellular obligate parasites that are composed of genetic material covered with the capsid. The genetic material may be either DNA or RNA and is safeguarded by the proteinaceous capsid that covers it and saves it from coming in contact with the outer environment. The capsid is like a coat of protein which itself is made up of various subunits called sarcomeres. This protein coat helps the nucleic acid of the virus from digestion and consists of special attachment sites on its surface to help the virions in attaching them to the host cells. The capsid also confers specificity to the virus. The genetic material and proteins form the core which confers infectivity.

Additional information
-Viruses are living beings simply because they possess genetic material and proteins and have the inherent potential for replication, propagation, and mutations.
- Still then, some time back, they were considered to be on the borderline between living organisms and non-living objects, with properties of both.
-The discovery of viruses in fact made the distinction between the living and the non-living all the more hazier simply because viruses occupy the Twilight zone that separates the living organism from non-living objects.

So, the correct answer is ‘Protein’.

Note:
The reproduction cycle of viruses involves two cycles: the lytic cycle and the lysogenic cycle. The lytic cycle is named for the process of lysis. In this virus the host cell replicates its new viral particles, and lyses out through a cell membrane resulting in the release of various infection-causing particles. It results in the destruction of the cell and its membrane when infected.