A microbiologist obtained two pure biological samples: one of a virus, and the other of a viroid. Unfortunately, the labels had

Question

3 years ago

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A microbiologist obtained two pure biological samples: one of a virus, and the other of a viroid. Unfortunately, the labels had

been lost. The microbiologist felt she could distinguish the two by analyzing for the presence or absence of a single molecule. What molecule would she search for and why?

Biology

1 answer:

USPshnik [31] · Answer 1 · 2022-01-06T22:12:30+03:00

The researcher could look for the presence of proteins, because viruses have a envelope (capsid) composed of proteins that involve their genetic material. The capsid may have a helical or icosahedral structure and is extremely regular. Viroids cannot synthesize any type of protein, so differentiation is possible.