Which statement accurately describes viruses in relation to host cells?

• A. Bacteria must penetrate host cells to reproduce
• B. Both viruses and bacteria reproduce only outside host cells
• C. Viruses must penetrate host cells to reproduce
• D. Viruses reproduce independently outside host cells

Answer: (C)

Viruses must penetrate host cells to reproduce because they lack the cellular machinery needed for copying their genome and making viral proteins. They are unable to carry out metabolism or protein synthesis on their own, so they hijack the host cell’s systems to replicate, assemble new viruses, and release them to infect more cells. Outside a host cell, viruses are just inert particles with no ability to reproduce. This makes the statement that viruses must penetrate host cells to reproduce the correct description. The other ideas don’t fit: bacteria can reproduce independently outside host cells, and viruses do not reproduce outside a host cell.