Which of the following cannot be used to culture viruses?

• A. Living animal hosts
• B. Embryonated chicken eggs
• C. Artificial nutrient agar plates
• D. Cell cultures

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand that viruses require living cells to replicate because they lack the cellular machinery for independent metabolism and reproduction.
2. Step 2: Recognize that living animal hosts provide a natural environment with living cells, making them suitable for culturing viruses.
3. Step 3: Know that embryonated chicken eggs contain living cells in the developing embryo, which can support viral growth and are commonly used in virology.
4. Step 4: Identify that cell cultures are laboratory-grown living cells that provide a controlled environment for viral replication.
5. Step 5: Realize that artificial nutrient agar plates do not contain living cells; they are designed for bacterial or fungal growth and cannot support virus replication, so they cannot be used to culture viruses.