An experimental chemical has been shown to selectively cleave phosphodiester bonds.How would this affect a virus?
A)Fragment the genome
B)Digest the capsid
C)Dissociate the envelope
D)Alter the host binding site
E)Hydrolyze the protein coating

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Viruses have genomes that are typically made up of nucleic acid strands, usually either DNA or RNA. Phosphodiester bonds are the bonds that connect nucleotides in the backbone of nucleic acid molecules. If the experimental chemical selectively cleaves phosphodiester bonds, it would specifically target the bonds between nucleotides in a viral genome. Cleaving these bonds would likely result in fragmentation of the viral genome, which could prevent the virus from functioning properly and/or reproducing. Therefore, choice A is the best answer. The other choices do not involve phosphodiester bonds and are not directly affected by a chemical that cleaves these bonds.

An Experimental Chemical Has Been Shown to Selectively Cleave Phosphodiester