Which cycle is associated with viruses reproducing via lysis of the host cell?

• A. Lytic
• B. Lysogenic
• C. Respiration
• D. Fermentation

Answer: (A)

Viruses reproduce by hijacking a host cell, and the cycle that leads to the host cell bursting and releasing new viruses is the lytic cycle. In this cycle, the virus takes over the cell’s machinery to rapidly make many copies of its genome and proteins, assembles them into new viral particles, and then destroys the cell to release them. This rapid production and lysis explain why the host cell dies after infection and why many viruses cause quick, acute infections.

The lysogenic cycle is a different mode where viral DNA integrates into the host genome and stays dormant for a while, being copied with the host's DNA without causing immediate harm. Respiration and fermentation are cellular energy processes, not viral replication cycles, so they don’t describe how viruses reproduce.