Would you expect the number of virions to be the same if you measured them by the plaque assay or by counting using the electron microscope? Why?
A.Yes-both methods measure the total number of virus particles in a solution.
B.No-the plaque assay only measures viable virus particles, while the electron microscope cannot distinguish between defective and viable virus.
C.No-you cannot count virus particles by using a plaque assay.You can only get a relative difference in quantity from one preparation of virus particles to another with this method.
D.Yes-only fully functioning viruses will be released from a host cell, so the quantified number of virus particles in a plaque assay should be identical to the number of free virus particles counted by electron microscopy within a given preparation.