Question

Why do RNA viruses appear to have higher rates of mutation? (A) RNA nucleotides are more unstable than DNA nucleotides.

Answer 1

Replication of RNA genome in RNA virus does not involve proofreading. Thus RNA viruses have higher rates of mutation. So the correct option is B.

What is meant by proofreading?

There are a variety of mechanisms in the cell to prevent mutations. Thus, permanent changes in the DNA sequence are prevented.

During the process of synthesis of DNA, DNA polymerases can analyse any mistake made during the synthesis and fix it. The majority of mispaired bases can be fixed by this process. It is called proofreading.

This process is not present in RNA and RNA polymerases. Thus RNA viruses appear to have higher rates of mutation compared to DNA viruses.

Therefore the correct option is B.

Read more about RNA viruses, here

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