Final answer:
Viruses are preserved and transported using a viral transport medium. E. coli is a prokaryote, and the regressive hypothesis suggests viruses may have evolved from complex life forms that became intracellular parasites.
Step-by-step explanation:
Viruses are transported in a viral transport medium, which is specifically designed for collecting, preserving, and transporting viruses for diagnostic purposes. This medium helps ensure that the viral specimen remains viable from the time of collection until laboratory analysis.
d. E. coli is an example of a prokaryote. Amoeba and charophyte algae are eukaryotes, and the influenza A virus is not classified as a prokaryote or eukaryote because viruses are considered acellular organisms without a typical cell structure.
The fact that bacteria in the genus Chlamydia can only survive as intracellular parasites supports the regressive viral origin hypothesis, proposing that viruses may have evolved from more complex organisms that have lost genetic information over time to become obligate intracellular parasites.