Practice question

Viral genetic material displays remarkable diversity compared to cellular life that universally uses double-stranded DNA. Viruses package either DNA or RNA in single- or double-stranded form, linear or circular, segmented or monopartite, employing diverse replication strategies. Some dsDNA viruses replicate via host polymerases, RNA viruses require RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, retroviruses reverse transcribe RNA into DNA. Neither DNA alone nor RNA alone describes entire virosphere. Classification systems including Baltimore classification categorize viruses based on genome type and replication intermediate, reflecting that genome can be either nucleic acid.