Question

State two problems faced by viruses with RNA genomes, and explain how these viruses address these challenges.

Answer 1

Two problem faced by virus which of RNA genomes are:-

1. One of the major problem faced by the RNA virus in terms of replication is the lack of enzymes. When such virus replicate within an eukaryotic host, they do not have enzyme which synthesize the RNA molecule from template. Within the eukaryotic cell, the DNA is converted into RNA and due to the lack of enzyme, they are not able to convert RNA into producing functional proteins. Hence the solution for the same is to use RNA dependent RNA polymerase which will convert the RNA into DNA and this will eventually undergo transcription to produce mRNA and translation to form necessary proteins.
2. Another problem is as they contain RNA as the genetic material, when they are present within an eukaryotic host, it will not be able to replicate the RNA genome. This would require the activity of RNA dependent RNA polymerase to replicate the RNA genome.