Biological Classification – Virus: NEET MCQs with Answers

15 free questions on Biological Classification – Virus for NEET (UG), starting with previous-year NEET and AIPMT questions. Try each one, then tap Show answer for the answer and a short explanation.

Syllabus covered: Virus, Viroids, Prions and Lichens

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Question 1

Previous-year question
Pick the correct statement about lichens. [NEET (Odisha) 2019]
  1. Lichens do not grow in polluted areas.
  2. Algal component of lichens is called mycobiont.
  3. Fungal component of lichens is called phycobiont.
  4. Lichens are not good pollution indicators.
Show answer
Answer: (A) Lichens do not grow in polluted areas.
Explanation: Lichens are very sensitive to pollution and do not grow in polluted areas, which makes them very good pollution indicators. The algal partner is the phycobiont and the fungal partner is the mycobiont, so the statements calling the algal part the mycobiont and the fungal part the phycobiont have the names reversed.

Question 2

Previous-year question
Which of the following is correct about viroids? [NEET 2020]
  1. They have free RNA without a protein coat
  2. They have DNA with a protein coat
  3. They have free DNA without a protein coat
  4. They have RNA with a protein coat
Show answer
Answer: (A) They have free RNA without a protein coat
Explanation: Viroids are the smallest known infectious agents, consisting of free, low molecular weight RNA with no protein coat. They were discovered by T. O. Diener in potato spindle tuber disease.

Question 3

Previous-year question
Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? [NEET 2019]
  1. Viroids lack a protein coat
  2. Viruses are obligate parasites
  3. The infective constituent in viruses is the protein coat
  4. Prions consist of abnormally folded proteins
Show answer
Answer: (C) The infective constituent in viruses is the protein coat
Explanation: The infective (genetic) constituent of a virus is its NUCLEIC ACID, not the protein coat; the capsid merely protects the nucleic acid and helps in attachment to the host. The other three statements are correct.

Question 4

Previous-year question
Match Column-I with Column-II. [NEET 2019] Column-I: (A) Saprophyte (B) Parasite (C) Lichens (D) Mycorrhiza Column-II: (i) Symbiotic association of fungi with plant roots (ii) Decomposition of dead organic materials (iii) Living on living plants or animals (iv) Symbiotic association of algae and fungi
  1. (A)-(i), (B)-(ii), (C)-(iii), (D)-(iv)
  2. (A)-(iii), (B)-(ii), (C)-(i), (D)-(iv)
  3. (A)-(ii), (B)-(i), (C)-(iii), (D)-(iv)
  4. (A)-(ii), (B)-(iii), (C)-(iv), (D)-(i)
Show answer
Answer: (D) (A)-(ii), (B)-(iii), (C)-(iv), (D)-(i)
Explanation: Saprophytes decompose dead organic material (ii); parasites live on living plants or animals (iii); lichens are the symbiotic association of an alga and a fungus (iv); and mycorrhiza is the symbiotic association of a fungus with plant roots (i).

Question 5

Previous-year question
Viroids differ from viruses in having [NEET 2017]
  1. DNA molecules without a protein coat
  2. RNA molecules with a protein coat
  3. RNA molecules without a protein coat
  4. DNA molecules with a protein coat
Show answer
Answer: (C) RNA molecules without a protein coat
Explanation: A viroid is simply a free, low molecular weight RNA molecule with no protein coat, whereas a virus always possesses a capsid enclosing its nucleic acid.

Question 6

Previous-year question
Which of the following statements is WRONG for viroids? [NEET 2016]
  1. They lack a protein coat
  2. They are smaller than viruses
  3. They cause infections
  4. Their RNA is of high molecular weight
Show answer
Answer: (D) Their RNA is of high molecular weight
Explanation: Viroids possess free RNA of LOW molecular weight, which is one of the features that distinguishes them from viruses. The other three statements are correct.

Question 7

Previous-year question
Which of the following are the most suitable indicators of SO₂ pollution in the environment? [AIPMT 2015]
  1. Conifers
  2. Algae
  3. Fungi
  4. Lichens
Show answer
Answer: (D) Lichens
Explanation: Lichens are highly sensitive to sulphur dioxide and disappear from areas with even low levels of SO₂. Their presence or absence is therefore used as a biological indicator of SO₂ pollution.
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Question 8

Previous-year question
Viruses have [AIPMT 2014]
  1. DNA enclosed in a protein coat
  2. a prokaryotic nucleus
  3. a single chromosome
  4. both DNA and RNA
Show answer
Answer: (A) DNA enclosed in a protein coat
Explanation: A virus consists of a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) enclosed within a protein coat called the capsid. It possesses no nucleus, no chromosome in the cellular sense, and never both DNA and RNA together.

Question 9

Previous-year question
Which of the following shows a coiled RNA strand and capsomeres? [AIPMT 2014]
  1. Polio virus
  2. Tobacco mosaic virus
  3. Measles virus
  4. Retrovirus
Show answer
Answer: (B) Tobacco mosaic virus
Explanation: Tobacco mosaic virus is a rigid rod-shaped virus in which a single coiled strand of RNA is surrounded by a helical arrangement of about 2130 identical protein subunits called capsomeres.

Question 10

Previous-year question
Influenza virus has [AIPMT 1996]
  1. DNA
  2. RNA
  3. both (1) and (2)
  4. only proteins and no nucleic acid
Show answer
Answer: (B) RNA
Explanation: Influenza virus (an orthomyxovirus) is a single-stranded RNA virus. Its RNA does not serve directly as mRNA but acts as a template for mRNA synthesis via a viral transcriptase. It infects the respiratory tract and causes influenza.

Question 11

Previous-year question
Which one of the following statements about viruses is correct? [AIPMT 1997]
  1. Viruses possess their own metabolic system
  2. Viruses contain either DNA or RNA
  3. Viruses are facultative parasites
  4. Viruses are readily killed by antibiotics
Show answer
Answer: (B) Viruses contain either DNA or RNA
Explanation: A virus contains only one type of nucleic acid — either DNA or RNA — as its genetic material. Viruses are obligate (not facultative) parasites, do not possess any metabolic machinery of their own, and are not killed by antibiotics, which act on bacterial structures and pathways.

Question 12

Previous-year question
Most of the lichens consist of [AIPMT 1997]
  1. blue-green algae and Basidiomycetes
  2. blue-green algae and Ascomycetes
  3. red algae and Ascomycetes
  4. brown algae and Phycomycetes
Show answer
Answer: (B) blue-green algae and Ascomycetes
Explanation: In most lichens the fungal component (mycobiont) is an ascomycete — only a few belong to Basidiomycotina or Deuteromycotina — while the algal component (phycobiont) is usually a blue-green alga such as Nostoc or Scytonema, or a green alga.

Question 13

Previous-year question
Which of the following is the use of lichens in the case of pollution? [AIPMT 1999]
  1. Lichens are not related with pollution
  2. They act as bioindicators of pollution
  3. They treat the polluted water
  4. They promote pollution
Show answer
Answer: (B) They act as bioindicators of pollution
Explanation: The growth of lichens on trees is inhibited by air pollution, especially by sulphur dioxide, so their populations decline in polluted areas. Because of this sensitivity, lichens serve as reliable biological indicators (bioindicators) of air pollution.

Question 14

Previous-year question
Enzymes are absent in [AIPMT 2000]
  1. cyanobacteria
  2. viruses
  3. algae
  4. fungi
Show answer
Answer: (B) viruses
Explanation: Viruses lack enzymes of their own because they possess no metabolic machinery; they make use of the enzyme systems of the host cell for their replication. Cyanobacteria, algae and fungi are all cellular organisms with a full complement of enzymes.

Question 15

Previous-year question
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a bovine disease, is related to which human disease? [AIPMT 2000]
  1. Cervical spondylitis
  2. Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease
  3. Encephalitis
  4. Kala-azar
Show answer
Answer: (B) Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease
Explanation: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, is a prion-caused brain disease and is analogous to Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans — a slow, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system marked by dysfunction and degeneration of the brain.

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