Intro to virology Flashcards
Virus
genetic elements that cannot replicate independently of a living (host) cell;
however viruses posses their own genetic information.
Viruses rely on the host cell for
Energy, Metabolic Intermediates and Protein synthesis
Virus particle (Virion)
extracellular form of a virus that enables the virus to
- Exists outside host and facilitates transmission from one host cell to another
- Contains nucleic acid genome surrounded by a protein coat and, in some cases, other layers of material
To multiply viruses must
enter a host in which they can replicate
-process called infection
Viruses are
obligate intracellular parasites
- too small to be seen by a light microscope
- come in many shapes and sizes
Viruses can replicate in a way
that is destructive to the host (agents of disease)
virology
The study of viruses
Viruses can exist in either
Extracellular or Intracellular forms
Extracellular form
Virion is a microscopic particle containing nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat and sometimes other macromolecule
_______ is metabolically ____ and cannot generate _____ or carryout ______
Virion, inert, energy, biosynthesis
virus _____ moves from the _____ cell to another ____ inside the ______
genome, host, cell, virion
Intracellular form
once in the new cell, the intracellular stage begins and the virus replicate
-New copies of the viral genome are produced and the components of the virus coat are synthesized
oAll cells, Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes contain
double-stranded DNA genomes
viruses can be either
DNA or RNA
-some use both as genomic material at different stages in their replication cycle.
Only one type of what is present in the virion of any particular type of virus?
nucleic acid
Some viral genomes are ____, but most are _____
circular, linear
Viral genomes vary almost a
thousand fold in size from
smallest to largest
circovirus
tiny
-1.8kb single-stranded genome
mega virus
1.25 Mb double-stranded genome
RNA genomes, whether single or double stranded, are typically ______ than DNA viruses
smaller
coronavirus
32kb
MS2,a bacteriophage
3.5kb
Viral genomes are
very small
-encode proteins whose functions viruses can not usurp from their hosts
virus redirects
host metabolic functions to support virus replication and the assembly of new virions
-New viral particles are released, and the process can repeat itself
Viruses can be classified on the basis of the _____ they infect as well as by
their ______
hosts, genomes
Most viruses are smaller than
prokaryotic cells
-range from 0.02
to 0.3 μm.
Viral structure
quite diverse
-varies in shape and chemical composition
Capsid (the protein coat)
surrounds the genome of a virus particle is composed of a number of protein molecules arranged in a precise and highly repetitive patterns around the nucleid acid
Capsomere:
subunit of the capsid (smallest morphological unit visible with an electron microscope)
Nucleocapsid
complete complex of nucleic acid and protein packaged in the virion.
Enveloped virus
virus that contains additional
layers around the nucleocapsid
-envelopes typically are derived from portions of the host cell membranes (phospholipids and proteins) but include some Viral glycoproteins.
-Functionally viral envelopes are used to help viruses enter host cells.
-viral envelope then fuses with the host’s membrane, allowing the capsid and viral genome to enter and infect the host
Glycoproteins
on the surface of the envelope serve to identify and bind to receptor sites on the host’s membrane
characteristic structure of the virus is determined by
of the capsomeres
of which it is constructed
Helical symmetry
rod-shaped viruses
-Length of virus determined by length of nucleic acid
-Width of virus determined by size and packaging of
protein subunits
Icosahedral symmetry
spherical viruses
-Most efficient arrangement of subunits in a closed
shell
-uses the smallest number of capsomeres to build the shell
-symmetric structure containing 20 triangular faces and 12 vertices and is roughly spherical in shape
Complex Viruses
Virions composed of several parts, each with separate shapes and symmetries
- Bacterial viruses contain complicated structures
- Icosahedral heads and helical tails
In some bacterial viruses, such as ________ of E.
coli, the tail itself has a complex structure with about___ different _____
Bacteriophage T4, 20, proteins
The complete tail is formed as a
sub-assembly
-tail is added to the DNA-containing head
In general, ______ do not carry out metabolic processes and thus a virus is metabolically ____ outside a host cell
virions, inert
True or False: some virions contain enzymes critical to infection
True
Lysozyme
Makes holes in bacterial cell walls
- allows the virus to inject its nucleic acid into the cytoplasm of the host.
- Lyses bacterial cell releasing the new virions
Nucleic acid polymerases
posses an RNA-dependent
DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase)
-transcribes the viral RNA to form a DNA intermediate
-retrovirus
Neuraminidases (surface proteins)
Enzymes that cleave glycosidic bonds
-Allows liberation of viruses from cell
Viruses replicate only in
certain types of cells or in whole organisms
Which viruses are the easiest to grow in the laboratory?
Bacterial
-for the study of bacterial viruses, pure cultures are used either in liquid or agar media
What viruses can be cultivated in tissue or cell cultures?
Animal viruses (and some plant viruses) -Plant viruses typically are most difficult because study often requires growth of whole plant
How are cell cultures obtained?
by aseptically removing pieces of tissue and dissociating the
cells by enzymatic treatment:
Primary Cell Cultures (PCC)
come directly from the animal and are not sub-cultured
- younger the source animal, the longer the cells will survive in culture
- Typically consist of a mixture of cell types (e.g. muscle and epithelial cells
- Such cells usually do not divide more than a few times, it supports growth of a wide variety of virus
Continuous Cells Lines (CCL):
cells that will reproduce for an extended number of generations
- early continuous cell lines used malignant cells because of their capacity for rapid growth
- immortal cell lines grow in the laboratory without aging,divide rapidly and repeatedly, and have simpler nutritional needs.
Virus Infectious Unit
the smallest unit that causes a detectable effect when
added to a susceptible host.
Titer:
number of infectious units per volume of fluid.
zone of lysis
clear area on the layer of growing host cells
- assumed that each plaque originated from the replication of a single virion
- When a virion initiates an infection on a layer of host cells growing on a flat surface
Plaque assay
analogous to the bacterial colon
-one way to measure virus infectivity
Plaques
clear zones that develop on lawns of host cells
- Lawn can be bacterial or tissue culture
- Each plaque results from infection by a single virus particle
Quantification of Bacterial Virus by Plaque Assay
Using the Agar Overlay Technique
dilution of a suspension containing the virus is mixed in a small amount of melted agar
with the sensitive host bacteria
-mixture is poured on the surface of an agar plate of the
appropriate medium
-host bacteria, which has been spread uniformly throughout the top
agar layer, begin to grow, and after overnight incubation form a lawn of confluent growth
-Virion-infected cells are lysed, forming plaques in the lawn
-size of the plaque depends on the virus, the host and conditions of culture.
Plaque Assay can be seen with
optical microscope or visually (pouring off the overlay medium and adding a crystal violet solution for 15 minutes until it has colored the cytoplasm, gently removing the excess with water will show uncolored the location of the dead cell
Focus Forming Assay (FFA)
variation of the plaque assay, but instead of relying on cell lysis in order to detect plaque formation, the FFA employs immunostaining techniques
-particularly useful for quantifying classes of viruses that do not lyse the cell membranes
Efficiency of plating is used in
quantitative virology
The number of PFU (Plaque-Forming Units) is almost always _____ than direct counts by
electron microscopy
lower
Intact Animal Methods
Some viruses do not show recognizable changes in cell cultures yet cause death or
disease in whole animals, in such cases quantification can be done only by titration in
infected animals
-General procedure is to carry out serial dilutions of the Virus (10-fold dil)
-Animals are infected with viral dilution, and after a suitable incubation period
General Features of Virus Replication
for a virus to replicate, it must induce a living host cell
to synthesize all the essential components needed to make more virions
-components must then be assembled into new virions that are released from the cell.
Viral Attachment and Penetration
are the first steps in the viral life cycle. We will also
mention the mechanisms by which some bacteria react to penetration by bacteriophage DNA.