Marinel Tumang
September 07, 2022
B BIO 3B2
Mrs. Flores
Performance Task 1. Study of Cell and Molecular Biology
Provide a short essay. If you were to argue that viruses are living organisms, what features of viral structure and
function might you use in your argument?
A virus is an invasive microorganism that is made up of a protein coat and a segment of nucleic acid
(either DNA or RNA). A capsid is a protein coat that protects a virus genetic's material. As compared to plants,
which are considered to be living things, they possess a cell wall. Its function is to defend against mechanical and
osmotic stress while also supplying tensile strength. The cell wall is like the capsid in a virus since its primary
function is to protect the viral genome from its surroundings and eventually convey it to the inside of a
homologous host cell.
All living organisms contain genetic information in the form of a DNA code. In the sense of viruses, it
has their own genetic code either DNA or RNA, but never both. The primary idea is that viruses are considered
to be living organisms since they carry DNA. In addition, there are various levels of organization in living things.
A larger product is created by combining smaller components. The virus actually has this characteristic since they
have capsids comprised of capsomers which are smaller subunits and nucleic acid based-genes.
One of the characteristics of living things is they are capable of reproducing. In the nature of viruses, they
can multiply through the use of their host cells to create more virions. Viruses enter living cells and then use the
cellular machinery of the host to copy its genetic material, create new capsids, and put everything together. To
sum it up, viruses may be considered living things since they possess some traits of a living thing such as having
genetic information, it has various levels of an organization, and having the ability to multiply.