Which of the following statements is/are correct? Viruses can infect 1. bacteria 2. fungi 3. plants Select the correct answer using the code given below.

All three statements are correct, so the answer is D. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites, and their host range covers every kingdom of life.

• 1. Bacteria (correct): Bacteriophages infect bacteria. T4 phage, which attacks E. coli, is the classic example. Phage therapy against antibiotic-resistant infections is an active area of research.
• 2. Fungi (correct): Mycoviruses infect fungi. Hypovirulence in Cryphonectria parasitica, the chestnut blight fungus, is a well-known case where a virus weakens the fungus and reduces its damage.
• 3. Plants (correct): Plant viruses such as Tobacco Mosaic Virus, first studied by Iwanowski and Beijerinck in the 1890s, and geminiviruses, which spread through insect vectors like whiteflies, cause major crop losses.

The core concept is host specificity of viruses. For Mains GS-3, this links to food security (plant virus losses), biotechnology (phage therapy, biocontrol) and emerging diseases.

Trap: Many aspirants associate viruses only with humans and animals and pick A or C by assuming bacteria or fungi are not hosts.