Which of the following statements is/are correct?
Viruses can infect
- 1.bacteria
- 2.fungi
- 3.plants
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Viruses can infect every kind of cell-based life: bacteriophages infect bacteria, mycoviruses infect fungi and plant viruses such as the Tobacco Mosaic Virus infect plants. All three statements are correct.
- ✓ 1. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria; NCERT describes the Hershey-Chase experiment that used them.
- ✓ 2. Mycoviruses are viruses that infect fungi; the first was reported in 1962 from the cultivated mushroom Agaricus bisporus.
- ✓ 3. NCERT names microscopic plant viruses, and shows the rod-shaped Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) as an example.
Remember · Viruses multiply only inside a living host cell and can infect bacteria (bacteriophages), fungi (mycoviruses), plants (e.g. TMV) and animals.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Curiosity, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Biology, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 8 · Curiosity, Chapter 2 “Viruses multiply when they enter a living cell. They may infect plants, animals, or bacterial cells and may cause a disease.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 5 “They worked with viruses that infect bacteria called bacteriophages.”
- Five Questions about Mycoviruses (PLOS Pathogens, via NIH PubMed Central) ↗ “Mycoviruses are viruses that infect fungi. The first mycovirus was reported in 1962 from the cultivated mushroom, Agaricus bisporus”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·