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Viruses can infect animals, plants and bacteria, and the attachments vary.

In animal viruses:

Animal cells have a cell membrane. Viruses attach to certain proteins in that membrane.

In plant viruses:

Plants can also be infected with viruses. Since they have cell walls, viruses attach to those when infecting plants.

In bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria):

Special viruses called bacteriophages attach to the cell walls of bacteria by way of proteins.

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