NEET-UG Biology

Viruses, viroids, prions and lichens — practice questions

8 questions in the bank on this idea. Below are 8 of them, exactly as they appear in a test.

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Question 1 · difficulty L1 · recall
What is the genetic material in a viroid?
- A. RNA
- B. DNA
- C. Protein
- D. DNA and RNA together
Question 2 · difficulty L1 · recall
Which infectious agent is composed mainly of an abnormally folded protein and lacks nucleic acid?
- A. Prion
- B. Viroid
- C. Bacteriophage
- D. Lichen
Question 3 · difficulty L2 · understanding
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
Question 4 · difficulty L2 · understanding
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
Question 5 · difficulty L3 · understanding
Mad cow disease in cattle and Cr Jacob disease in humans are due to infection by ______.
- A. Prion
- B. Bacterium
- C. Virus
- D. Viroid
Question 6 · difficulty L3 · understanding
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
Question 7 · difficulty L3 · application
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
Question 8 · difficulty L5 · analysis
Four samples contain infectious or symbiotic biological entities. Sample P has nucleic acid enclosed by protein, Q is naked infectious RNA, R is infectious protein with no nucleic acid, and S contains a fungus with a photosynthetic partner. Which sequence identifies P, Q, R and S?
- A. Virus, viroid, prion, lichen
- B. Viroid, virus, lichen, prion
- C. Prion, viroid, virus, lichen
- D. Virus, prion, viroid, lichen

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