Detecting Viruses, Viruses in Other Kingdoms, and Prions Flashcards
How do we study and detect animal viruses?
cell cultures
some types of host cells can be grown in the lab using media
How do we study and detect animal viruses?
primary cell lines
used for viral growth, die after only a few generations
How do we study and detect animal viruses?
diploid cell lines
developed from human embryos, can be maintained for 100s of generations
How do we study and detect animal viruses?
continuous (immortal) cells lines
transformed (cancerous) cells that can be maintained indefinitely
How do we detect animal viruses?
serology
detection of the presence of antibodies specific to a pathogen of interest in a patient’s serum
How do we detect animal viruses?
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
detection of a pathogen using an indicator antibody that is linked to an enzyme that induces a color change in the presence of its substrate
How do we detect animal viruses?
Indirect ELISA
- purified pathogen antigens are used to detect the presence of antibodies specific to the pathogen of interest
- the indicator antibody binds to any human antibody
How do we detect animal viruses?
Direct ELISA
- purified antibodies specific to the pathogen are used to detect antigens in the patient serum
- indicator antibody is specific to the antigen of interest
How do we detect animal viruses?
Lateral flow/Rapid antigen assays
detection of the presence of antigens specific to a pathogen using labeled and unlabeled antiviral antibodies
How do we detect animal viruses?
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
amplification of target DNA using complimentary primers
How do we detect animal viruses?
multiplex PCR
multiple primers are used in the same reaction to determine the casual agent associated with symptoms that many pathogens cause
How do we detect animal viruses?
real-time PCR
relies on fluorochromes that bind to amplified DNA and a machine that detects fluorescence, no longer need to run a gel
How do we detect animal viruses?
reverse transcriptase PCR
used for RNA viruses, RT enzyme is used to first make cDNA which is then amplified using typical PCR cycle
influenza virus
- antisense (-) RNA genome comprised of 8 segments
- enveloped
- HA and NA spikes are often used to designate type
antigenic drift
accumulation of point mutations resulting from error-prone RdRp making mistakes during genome replication
