NEET-UG Biology · Class 11
Viruses, viroids, prions and lichens — NEET & JEE Questions
Viruses, viroids, prions and lichens is a topic in Biological Classification, a Class 11 Biology chapter of the NEET-UG syllabus. TestBudy holds 13 published NEET-UG questions on Viruses, viroids, prions and lichens, each with the marking scheme of the real paper.
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Viruses, viroids, prions and lichens MCQs with solutions
10 of the 13 published questions on this topic, exactly as they appear in a test. Answers and worked solutions come with your result rather than on this page.
What is the genetic material in a viroid?
- A. RNA
- B. DNA
- C. Protein
- D. DNA and RNA together
Which infectious agent is composed mainly of an abnormally folded protein and lacks nucleic acid?
- A. Prion
- B. Viroid
- C. Bacteriophage
- D. Lichen
Why are viruses described as obligate parasites?
- A. They multiply only inside suitable living host cells
- B. They can reproduce independently in nutrient broth
- C. They possess their own complete cellular machinery
- D. They are always bacteria that live inside other bacteria
What is the biological association in a lichen?
- A. A fungus associated with an alga or cyanobacterium
- B. A bacterium associated with a protozoan
- C. A virus associated with a fungus
- D. Two fungal species living parasitically
The infectious agent of potato spindle tuber disease, discovered by T.O. Diener in 1971, differs from a virus because it
- A. has a protein coat but no nucleic acid
- B. is a free RNA of low molecular weight without a protein coat
- C. contains both DNA and RNA
- D. is an abnormally folded protein
Mad cow disease in cattle and Cr Jacob disease in humans are due to infection by ______.
- A. Prion
- B. Bacterium
- C. Virus
- D. Viroid
Which of the following is correct about viroids?
- A. They have free RNA without protein coat
- B. They have DNA with protein coat
- C. They have free DNA without protein coat
- D. They have RNA with protein coat
An infectious agent passes through filters that retain bacteria, contains RNA, and has no protein coat. Which agent is the best match?
- A. Viroid
- B. RNA virus
- C. Prion
- D. Bacterium
A newly isolated pathogen is found to have a protein coat made of subunits arranged helically, and to contain single-stranded RNA. Bacteria in the same sample carry a different agent with double-stranded DNA. On this evidence, which is the most likely identification?
- A. The first is a bacteriophage and the second a plant virus
- B. Both are viroids
- C. The first is a plant virus and the second a bacteriophage
- D. The first is a prion and the second a virus
Which statement about the historical understanding of viruses is correct in every part?
- A. Ivanowsky coined 'virus'; Pasteur discovered tobacco mosaic virus; Stanley named it Contagium vivum fluidum
- B. Beijerinek crystallised viruses; Stanley named the disease; Diener discovered viruses
- C. Pasteur crystallised viruses; Ivanowsky showed viruses are living fluids
- D. Pasteur coined 'virus'; Ivanowsky recognised certain microbes as the cause of tobacco mosaic disease; Beijerinek called the infectious fluid Contagium vivum fluidum; Stanley crystallised viruses
Common mistakes in Viruses, viroids, prions and lichens
Recorded against questions in this topic that are not shown above, so none of these points at an answer you can see on this page.
- Remembering the names but mixing up which of viruses, viroids and prions contain nucleic acid or protein.
- Chooses viroid because it is also 'not quite a virus', missing that a viroid is an RNA and a prion a protein.
- Thinks the fungal partner parasitises the alga, or calls a lichen a moss.
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