alleryStart learning →The Baltimore scheme sorts viruses according to which single feature?
AThe shape of the capsid shell
BThe size of the virion core
CThe host species infected
DThe way mRNA is produced
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. The way mRNA is produced
1. Older schemes sorted viruses by morphology and by genetics, and they disagreed with each other.
2. The Baltimore scheme is the classification method most commonly used today.
3. It groups viruses by how messenger RNA is generated in each type of virus.
4. Capsid shape and envelope are still used for description, but they are not what defines a Baltimore group.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "Viruses", section 21.1 Viral Evolution, Morphology, and Classification_
Keep practising Virology
Browse all Virology questions for DHA Medical Licensing Exam, or explore more Microbiology topics.
Related questions
Spot the false virology claimName the virology termEnveloped or naked?Sort viruses by genome chemistryRun the virus replication cycleWhat does a viroid produce inside the plant cell it has infected?Viroids are best described as which kind of infectious particle?Kuru spread among people in Papua New Guinea through which practice?