How do viruses reproduce?

• A. They require a host cell to reproduce.
• B. They reproduce by fusing with other viruses to exchange DNA.
• C. They reproduce by infecting a host cell and using its machinery to create new viral particles (lytic or lysogenic).
• D. They reproduce by photosynthesis.

Answer: (C)

Viruses reproduce by hijacking a host cell’s machinery. They can’t carry out metabolism or make new copies on their own, so once a virus infects a cell, its genome is copied and viral proteins are produced using the cell’s ribosomes, enzymes, and energy. New viral particles are then assembled inside the cell and released.

This process can follow two main routes. In the lytic cycle, many new viruses are made quickly and the cell is often destroyed to release them. In the lysogenic cycle, the viral genome integrates into the host’s DNA and lies dormant for a time, replicated along with the host genome until conditions trigger active production.

So the best description is that viruses infect a host cell and use its machinery to create new viral particles, with outcomes that can be lytic or lysogenic.