Why has the study of viruses been integral to the development of molecular biology?
A) Because viruses were only able to be visualised in detail with the invention of the electron microscope.
B) Only molecular biology techniques were able to discern that viruses are little more than DNA in a protein coat.
C) Viruses are not living entities, thus they could not be studied using traditional experiments that microscopic and sub-microscopic organisms responded to.
D) Because organisms were not well understood at the molecular level until molecular biological techniques revealed the true nature and complexity of genes, chromosomes and proteins.
E) All the options listed here are correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The study of viruses has been integral to the development of molecular biology for several reasons. Viruses were indeed only able to be visualized in detail with the advent of the electron microscope, which opened up new avenues for studying their structure and function. Molecular biology techniques were crucial in revealing that viruses consist essentially of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) enclosed in a protein coat, a discovery that deepened our understanding of their simplicity and efficiency as infectious agents. The fact that viruses are not considered living entities in the traditional sense meant that researchers had to develop novel experimental approaches to study them, as they do not exhibit characteristics of life outside of a host organism. Finally, the study of viruses contributed significantly to our understanding of molecular biology, including the intricacies of genes, chromosomes, and proteins, by providing simple systems to study these complex biological molecules and processes.

Why Has the Study of Viruses Been Integral to the Development