Chapter 6 Flashcards
What are some traits of viruses?
- Origin: Latin meaning poison
- Can be seen using electron microscopes
- Acellular (not consisting of cells)
- In order to survive and reproduce, viruses must infect a cellular host, making them obligate intracellular parasites.
What are the genetic characteristics of viruses?
- DNA or RNA genome (never both)
- Genome is surrounded by a protein capsid and, in some cases, a phospholipid membrane studded with viral glycoproteins
- Lack genes for many products needed for successful reproduction, requiring exploitation of host-cell genomes to reproduce.
What is a host range?
Most viruses typically have limited host ranges and infect specific cell types.
What are bacteriophages (or phages)?
Viruses that infect bacteria.
What are zoonoses?
Viruses that can be transmitted from an animal host to a human host can cause zoonoses.
Virus itself is not zoonoses.
What can viruses do to alter the configuration of cells?
Viruses may cause abnormal growth of the host cell or cell death, alter the cell’s genome, or cause little noticeable effect in the cell.
How can viruses be transmitted?
Through direct contact, indirect contact with fomites, or through a vector.
What are the two different kinds of vectors?
- Mechanical vectors
- Biological vectors
What are mechanical vectors?
Fly picks us pathogen from fecal matter and carries it on its body, fly transfers pathogen to food, person eats contaminated food and then gets sick.
What are biological vectors?
Infected mosquito bites uninfected person, infection spreads through body and into red blood cells, second mosquito bites infected person and mosquito may now transmit infection to another person.
How big are viruses?
Ultramicroscopic, 20nm to 900nm in length.
What are virions?
Virions are acellular and consist of a nucleic acid, DNA or RNA, but not both, surrounded by a protein capsid (composed of protein subunits called capsomeres).
There may also be a phospholipid membrane surrounding the capsid (non-enveloped viruses or enveloped viruses).
What are spikes?
Protein structures that extend outward on the virus.
What do spikes do?
At the tips of these spikes are structures that allow the virus to attach and enter a cell or enzymes that allow the virus to detach from the cell surface during release of new virions.
What are the three shapes of viruses?
- Helical
- Polyhedral
- Complex shapes
Where is the genome located in a bacteriophage?
The genome is located within the polyhedral head and the sheath connects the head to the tail fibers and tail pins.
What is classification of viruses based on?
Morphology, type of nucleic acid, host range, cell specificity, and enzymes carried within the virion.
How are viruses classified?
The ICTV has classified known viruses in seven orders, 96 families, and 350 genera.
What do viral family names end in?
-viridae