Question

Bacteriophage φX174 is notable for having one of the smallest known viral genomes. Approximately how many nucleotides does it contain?

Options

• ~3.3 × 10⁹ nucleotides

• ~48,502 nucleotides

• ~4.6 × 10⁶ nucleotides

• ~5,386 nucleotides

Answer 1

Bacteriophage φX174 contains approximately 5,386 nucleotides, making it one of the smallest known DNA viruses. This bacteriophage was historically important in molecular biology research and was the first organism to have its complete genome sequenced. Its small genome size makes it an ideal model organism for studying viral genetics and molecular biology.