L-31

Question 1

What are viruses?

Answer 1

Acellular microorganisms that cannot survive without a host as they have no metabolic abilities of their own and rely completely on the bio synthetic machinery of the infected cell to multiply

Question 2

What parts does a virus consist of?

Answer 2

1. Genome
2. Capsid
3. Envelope of lipids (sometimes)

Question 3

What is a capsid?

Answer 3

A protein coat that surrounds and protects the genetic material

Question 4

What is a capsid made of?

Answer 4

Multiple units of the same protein building blocks known as capsomers

Question 5

What are capsomers?

Answer 5

Capsomers are subunits of the capsid arranged in a precise and highly repetitive pattern around the nucleic acid

Question 6

What are the 3 types of symmetry that capsomers can be arranged in?

Answer 6

• helical
• icosahendral
• complex

Question 7

What are the possible genome arrangements of viruses?

Answer 7

• DNA or RNA
• linear, circular, segmented
• single stranded or double stranded

Question 8

What are bacteriophages?

Answer 8

Viruses that infect and replicate in bacteria

Question 9

Name the cycle of bacteriophage infection:

Answer 9

1- attach
2- penetrate
3- uncoat (release genome)
4- genome replication and gene expression
5- assembly
6- release

Question 10

What is the shape of the SARS-CoV-2 virus?

Answer 10

Helical

Question 11

What are the details of the SARS-CoV-2 genome?

Answer 11

Single stranded, linear, non-segmented

Question 12

Is the SARS-CoV-2 virus enveloped?

Answer 12

Yes

Question 13

Why does the SARS-CoV-2 virus create new strains?

Answer 13

RNA polymerase makes errors in replication that leads to mutation

Question 14

What does the spike of the SARS-CoV-2 virus do?

Answer 14

Binds to receptor protein to attach virus to cell

Question 15

What do the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines target?

Answer 15

The spike so it cannot bind