Question

How different is the growth of a viral population according to its biotic potential from the growth of a bacterial population according to its biotic potential?

Answer 1

The growth curves of viruses and bacteria according to their biotic potential both present a positive exponential pattern. The difference between them is that over each time period, bacteria double their population, whereas the viral population multiplies dozens or hundreds of times.

Therefore, the viral population growth curve has more intense growth. This happens because bacteria reproduce by binary division, with each cell generating two daughter cells, whereas each virus replicates generating dozens or even hundreds of new viruses.