Final answer:
The statement that animal viruses are more complex than bacterial viruses is false. Bacteriophages can be quite complex, challenging the assumption that complexity correlates with the host's complexity. Viruses have diverse structures, ranging from simple to intricate, regardless of their host organisms.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that animal viruses are more complex than bacterial viruses is false. Bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria, can have some of the most complex structures among viruses. For example, the bacteriophage T4 has a DNA-containing head group and elaborate tail fibers that attach to host cells. In contrast, many animal viruses are simpler in structure. The complexity of a virus does not necessarily correlate with the complexity of its host; viruses that infect simpler organisms like bacteria can be quite intricate.
Viruses, in general, can have a variety of structural complexities. They are acellular organisms, meaning they lack a cellular structure and therefore most components of cells such as organelles, ribosomes, and the plasma membrane. A virion, which is an individual virus particle, consists of a nucleic acid core surrounded by a protein coat called a capsid, and sometimes an additional outer envelope. The morphology of viruses can be diverse and is not indicative of the complexity of the host organism.
Understanding that bacteriophages can be more complex than animal viruses informs us about the incredible diversity of viruses and challenges assumptions that complexity in biology always correlates with the complexity of the organism itself.