Final answer:
The false statement about viruses is the claim that they can only be found associated with animal and bacterial cells. In reality, viruses have a wide host range, including plants, fungi, and archaea, and can integrate into the host's DNA.
Option 1 is the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement about viruses that is FALSE is: 1) They can only be found associated with animal and bacterial cells. Viruses are much more versatile and can infect a variety of hosts including plants, animals, fungi, protists, bacteria, and archaea. Their ability to infect such a wide range of organisms is due to their obligate intracellular parasitic nature, which means they must infect a host cell to reproduce.
Not all viruses cause diseases; some may have little to no noticeable effect on the cell. Also, some viruses can indeed become integrated into the DNA of the host's cell, a process seen in the lysogenic cycle of bacteriophages, for example.
The false statement about viruses is that they can only be found associated with animal and bacterial cells. In reality, viruses exhibit remarkable versatility, infecting a broad spectrum of hosts, including plants, animals, fungi, protists, bacteria, and archaea. This adaptability stems from their obligate intracellular parasitic nature, mandating host cell infection for reproduction.
Importantly, not all viruses induce diseases, and some may have minimal impact on the host cell. Additionally, certain viruses can integrate into the host cell's DNA, exemplified in the lysogenic cycle of bacteriophages. This diverse interaction with various organisms underscores the complexity of viral behavior beyond the confines of animal and bacterial cells.