Which type of cells can be infected by enveloped viruses?

Enveloped viruses are a class of viruses that have an outer lipid membrane, which is acquired from the host cell during the viral budding process. This envelope often contains proteins necessary for the virus to attach to and enter host cells.

Animal cells are the primary target for enveloped viruses because these viruses typically require a specific receptor on the surface of animal cells to facilitate entry. The lipid envelope of these viruses allows them to fuse with the host cell membrane, enabling the release of the viral genome into the host cell's cytoplasm.

In contrast, plant cells, bacterial cells, and fungal cells present structural and biochemical differences that generally make them less suitable for infection by enveloped viruses. Plant cells have rigid cell walls that can inhibit the entry of enveloped viruses, fungal cells also have cell walls with different compositions, and bacterial cells typically lack the lipid membranes that enveloped viruses exploit to enter. Thus, the best answer is that enveloped viruses primarily infect animal cells, which are equipped to accommodate these viruses through necessary receptor interactions and membrane fusion.