Consider the following:
- 1.Bacteria
- 2.Fungi
- 3.Virus
Which of the above can be cultured in artificial/synthetic medium?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Bacteria and fungi are living cells that can feed and multiply on a lab-made nutrient medium, so they can be cultured in it. A virus has no cell machinery of its own and multiplies only inside a living host cell, so it cannot grow in a cell-free artificial medium.
- ✓ 1. Bacteria grow as visible colonies on nutrient-rich gel or broth in a petri dish.
- ✓ 2. Fungi also grow as colonies in a petri dish on a suitable nutrient medium.
- ✗ 3. Viruses are acellular and multiply only after entering a living cell. To grow them, labs use living cells (cell culture, or fertilised eggs), not a synthetic medium.
Remember · Bacteria and fungi grow on artificial nutrient media; viruses need living host cells, so they cannot be cultured on a synthetic medium alone.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Biology, Ch 8 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Curiosity, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 8 “Colonies of bacteria growing in a petri dish; (b) Fungal colony growing in a petri dish”
- NCERT Class 8 · Curiosity, Chapter 2 “Viruses are microscopic and acellular. Viruses multiply when they enter a living cell.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·