Module 1 Flashcards
what is a virus?
subcellular, infectious agents, consisting of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) in a protein coat
what is a virus?
obligate intracellular parasites
viruses’ one goal
to replicate themselves
viruses
type of infectious agent
virions
individual virus particles
virus delivery system
protein coat
virus payload
nucleic acid
why do we study viruses?
important pathogens, infect all forms of life, transfer genes between organisms to drive evolution, play a large role in ecological, useful for preventing and curing diseases, providing insight to basic mechanisms
virology is a young science
around 120 years old, hippocrates rationalized plagues caused by small organisms
viruses are filtrable agent
viruses smaller than bacteria passed through filter, weren’t grown on culture but would infect animals
viruses could …
diluted and still cause disease, can regain its strength through replicates, can be passed multiple times
viruses fail to propagate in solutions
further study hampered by lack of experimental system
Koch’s postulates
virus don’t grow on culture so they don’t follow koch’s postulates
poliovirus replication in cell cultures
ender, wellers, and robbins propagate poliovirus in human cell cultures in primary embryonic skin
study of viruses has an impact on molecular and cellular biology
gene expression, DNA replication, RNA splicing, cellular oncogenes
smallpox eradication
1958-1979, first and only human infectious disease to be eradicated
eradication of rinderpest
2nd Virus, 2011, eradicated in cattle
generic viral structure
nucleocapsid and envelope
nucleocapsid
all viruses have a capsid and nucleic acid
envelope
viral proteins embedded, some viruses have envelopes
viruses alive?
made of the same material as cells, replicate, evolve, some metabolize
viruses dead?
do not have cells, cannot reproduce independently, lack ribosomes, do not typically metabolize
viral genome
RNA or DNA contains the information needed to initiate and complete an infectious cycle within a susceptible or permissive host cell
where do viruses package their genomes?
inside a protein shell