Structure and Chemical Composition Flashcards
What are the two smallest viruses?
porcine circovirus type I (17nm diameter) and parvovirus (18nm diameter)
What are the two largest viruses?
pandoravirus (400 nm diameter) and poxvirus (200 nm diameter and 300 nm length)
What is pleomorphism?
ability of a virus to alter shape or size
Which virus is bullet-shaped?
Rabies
Which virus is brick shaped?
poxvirus
Which virus is rod-shaped?
tobacco mosaic
Which virus is filament-shaped?
Ebola
Which virus is spherical?
rotavirus
electron microscopy
- need staining -> negative staining with electron dense material (uranyl acetate or phosphotungstate)
- resolution 50-75 angstroms
- detailed structural interpretation not always possible
cryo-electron microscopy
- can observe specimens in native environment
- doesn’t require fixing or staining
- -180C for liquid nitrogen, -269 for He
- resolution 3.3-20 angstroms
X-ray crystallography
- virus diffracts x-rays which are detected by a computer to produce an electron density map
- map used to create a protein model which is used to reconstruct the virus structure
What is a capsid
protein shell of a virus that encases/envelops the viral nucleic acid or genome
What is a capsid made of ?
capsomeres held together by non-covalent bonds
How many capsids do viruses have?
most have one, but reoviruses have a double layered capsid
What is a capsomere?
basic subunit protein in the capsid of a virus
What is a nucleocapsid?
capsid + virus nucleic acid (DNA or RNA)
helical symmetry
capsomeres and nucleic acid are wound together to form helical or spiral tube; incomplete virions cannot form
- in all animal viruses, helical nucleocapsid is enclosed within a lipoprotein envelope
- naked helical nucleocapsids common among plant viruses (e.g. tobacco mosaic)
How many corners, facets and edges does an icosahedron have?
12 corners
20 facets
30 edges
How many pentons and hexons are present in an icosahedral capsid?
always 12 pentons # hexons varies with virus group
Triangulation number
describes the relation between the number of pentagons and hexagons of the icosahedron; the larger the T number the more hexagons are present relative to pentagons
T number formula
T = (h^2) + (h)(k) + (k^2)
What is the simplest icosadedron?
parvovirus, T = 1
Reoviridae capsid symmetry
outer: T = 13
inner: T = 2
complex symmetry
virions are composed of several parts, each with separate shapes and symmetries (e.g. pox viruses)