Negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses
A) regenerate themselves by reverse transcription.
B) include viruses that are responsible for causing plant diseases and are referred to as mosaic viruses.
C) have only a few genes,including one that allows them to make mRNA from their genome.
D) are polyphyletic and include some viruses that have more than a million base pairs.
E) have distinct lipids in their plasma membranes.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses have a genome that is complementary to their mRNA, so they must first make mRNA using their RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene in order to replicate. They typically have a small genome with only a few genes, including the one for RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. They do not regenerate themselves by reverse transcription like retroviruses, are not responsible for causing plant diseases like mosaic viruses (which are positive-sense RNA viruses), are not polyphyletic, and do not have distinct lipids in their plasma membranes.

Negative-Sense Single-Stranded RNA Viruses