Learn French: Que provoque ce virus dans le laboratoire ? - What does this virus cause in the laboratory?

You would say: Il demande ce que ce virus provoque dans le laboratoire. In reported speech, the direct question word que (acting as the direct object) becomes ce que. Notice also that the subject and verb go back to their normal order (ce virus provoque) instead of being inverted like in the direct question.

Why does the verb provoque come before the subject ce virus here?

This is a formal structure called stylistic inversion. In French, when a question starts with an interrogative word (like que, où, or quand) and the subject is a noun rather than a pronoun, the verb can be placed right before the subject noun. A more common, everyday way to ask this is: Qu'est-ce que ce virus provoque dans le laboratoire ?

Does provoquer mean "to provoke" or "to cause"?

It means both! While it can translate to "provoke" (like provoking a person or a reaction), in scientific, medical, or formal contexts, it is the standard verb for "to cause" or "to bring about" (such as causing an illness or an accident).

Why do we use que instead of quoi for "what" here?