Question

The fundamental difference between a virus and other classes of mobile genetic elements is that: ?

1) Viral genomes carry sequences that coat proteins
2) Viral genomes do not require homology in order to recombine
3) Viral genomes employ a "copy and paste" mechanism, and therefore increase their presence in the genome
4) Viruses, as a group, recombine much more frequently than other types of mobile element
5) Viral replication activity is detrimental, whereas other types of recombination are not

Answer 1

The fundamental difference between a virus and other classes of mobile genetic elements is that 2) viral genomes do not require homology in order to recombine. Other classes of mobile genetic elements require homology to insert their DNA into the genome. Viral genomes employ a "copy and paste" mechanism, and therefore increase their presence in the genome.

Step-by-step explanation:

The fundamental difference between a virus and other classes of mobile genetic elements is that viral genomes do not require homology in order to recombine. Other classes of mobile genetic elements, such as transposons, require homology to insert their DNA into the genome. Viral genomes, on the other hand, employ a "copy and paste" mechanism, where the virus replicates its genome and inserts multiple copies into the host genome, increasing its presence in the genome.