1. They are ultra microscopic disease producing entities.
2. They are obligatory intracellular parasites as they are completely inactive outside the host.
3. They are simple in structure, basically composed of nucleic acid wrapped up in a protein coat.
4. They have co cellular organisation and also no metabolic machinery of their own.
5. Nucleic acid is only of one type, either DNA or RNA, but never both.
6. They multiple within the host by taking over the metabolic machinery of the host cell.
7. They are specific in action, i.e., they always infect particular organ or organism.
8. They can be crystallized and even in crystalline form, they retain their infectivity.
9. They are unaffected by antimicrobial antibiotics.
10. They may undergo mutations.
2. They are obligatory intracellular parasites as they are completely inactive outside the host.
3. They are simple in structure, basically composed of nucleic acid wrapped up in a protein coat.
4. They have co cellular organisation and also no metabolic machinery of their own.
5. Nucleic acid is only of one type, either DNA or RNA, but never both.
6. They multiple within the host by taking over the metabolic machinery of the host cell.
7. They are specific in action, i.e., they always infect particular organ or organism.
8. They can be crystallized and even in crystalline form, they retain their infectivity.
9. They are unaffected by antimicrobial antibiotics.
10. They may undergo mutations.