How are viruses different from bacteria
2 answers:
I believe the correct answer is that viruses are not cells while bacteria are cells with organelles.
<h2>Explanation:</h2><h3>Viruses</h3>Viruses can simply be explained as genetic materials enclosed in capsules that protects them from the immune system.
Viruses need a host to survive since they lack a mechanism to replicate in meaning they are obligate intracellular organisms.
Reproduction of viruses is through attaching their DNA or RNA into the machinery of the host that replicates them as part of the normal DNA of the cell.
They are the smallest living organisms and cannot be seen microscopically.
They cannot be infected but rather can infect bacteria
They have a capsid that protects the viral material and also contains the receptors attachments that are able to attach to the specific sites which they are infecting. Some of them have an extra layer of a membrane that is called an envelope that further protects the viruses from their hostile environment
They are treated by antiviral medications that affects their replication on normal cells.
They are pathogenic by destroying the cells they enter after successfully replicating their genetic material.
They can either have DNA or RNA but never both.
<h3>Bacteria</h3>They are cellular prokaryotes with cell organelles that keeps them functional
They can be obligate intracellular organisms or they can survive outside the cell without any problem depending on the particular species of the bacteria since they have cell organelles that can function.
Bacteria reproduce through a process called binary fission where the cell organelles just double up and the cell pinches into 2 different sections with equal distribution of genetic materials forming 2 different cells.
They can be infected by types of viruses called bacteriophages that use the hosts nucleoid to replicate.
They have a cell membrane and a cell wall which encloses the inner contents of the bacteria and also protects the bacteria from the immune system.
They are treated by antibiotics such as β-lactam antibiotics that destroys their cell wall making it porous and the cell eventually dies.
They do not enter the host for reproduction but rather they kill the host through toxins such as toxin A and toxin B
They do not have a nucleus but have the nucleoid that contains the DNA of the bacterium.
Level: High School
Subject: Biology
Topic: The cell
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