Final answer:
The total nucleic acid content of a virus is called the viral genome, which is essential and can be either DNA or RNA, single- or double-stranded, and linear or circular.
Step-by-step explanation:
The total nucleic acid content of a virus can be referred to as the viral genome. Viruses may use either DNA or RNA as their genetic material, unlike most living organisms which only use DNA.
A virus's genome contains only the essential genes needed to produce proteins not available from the host cell. This genetic material can appear in various forms: it could be single- or double-stranded, and its structure might be linear or circular.
While many viruses have a single segment of nucleic acid, there are viruses with segmented genomes, like the influenza virus, making them highly variable and challenging for vaccine development.