[Campbell Biology P.448] What was Martinus Beijerinck's key conclusion regarding the infecti... | Practice Question

What was Martinus Beijerinck's key conclusion regarding the infectious agent of tobacco mosaic disease, distinguishing it from bacteria?

  • A: It was a bacterium that produced a potent toxin.
  • B: It could be cultivated in petri dishes, but not test tubes.
  • C: It was an infectious particle smaller than bacteria that could replicate within a host.
  • D: It could only cause disease once and then became inactive.

Explanation

Beijerinck concluded that the infectious agent was 'apparently not a bacterium because it could pass through a bacterium-trapping filter' meaning it was smaller and that 'The pathogen must have been replicating in the plants because its ability to cause disease was undiluted after several transfers from plant to plant'. This summarizes option C.