Veterinary Virology Introduction Flashcards
What was the first virus that was identified?
tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was discovered in 1892 as a filterable agent
What are viruses? What kind of parasites are they considered?
submicroscopic filterable infectious agents that are only able to multiply in living cells
obligate parasites —> metabolically inert outside of their host
At what size are viruses filterable?
< 0.2 μ
How do viruses multiply?
rely on the metabolic processes of the host and hijack the host’s DNA replication machinery
How do viruses compare to mammalian cells?
lack organelles, like mitochondria, chloroplasts, Golgi, ER, or ribosomes
How do viruses contain their genetic material? What kind of viruses are unique in this aspect?
DNA or RNA
Retroviruses (HIV, AIDS) have both
What are virions? Viroids?
mature extracellular infectious viral particle produced by the infected cells under the control of the genetic materials of the virus
infectious entity affecting plants, smaller than a virus and consists only of nucleic acid and lacks a protein coat
What are satellite/defective viruses? What is an example of this type of virus?
viruses that require a second virus (helper virus) for replication
Hepatitis delta virus requires the presence of HBV to complete its replication cycle
What are the 3 main criteria that may characterize viruses as living? When are viruses considered living?
- viruses control and divert cellular functions for their own purposes
- viruses can multiply their viral genome, form genetic code, and synthesize/assemble viral components within the infected host cell (have DNA or RNA)
- viruses may undergo mutations (which can affect virulence - variants!)
when inside viruse permissiv cells
What 7 criteria make it possible to characterize viruses as nonliving? Where are viruses considered nonliving?
- not able to reproduce on their own
- must infect other cells in order to perpetuate their life cycle
- can be crystalized, unlike living cells
- do not have energy-generating (ATP) machinery, metabolic machinery, or necessary machinery for generating nucleic acids or proteins
- do not contain cytoplasm or other cellular organelles
- may contain membranous envelope derived from the infected host cells during viral exit
- don’t grow or respond to their surroundings or stimuli
when outside of host cells
How do bacteria replicate? What typically differentiates bacteria from viruses?
binary fission
- can be isolated and propagate on synthetic material
- contain DNA and RNA
- have energy machinery
- growth affected by antibiotics
- metabolism
- size larger than 300 nm and can be detected by light microscopy
- no IFN sensitivity
- presence of a cell wall
What are major differences between Mycoplasma, Rickettsia, and Chlamydia compared to other bacterial species?
MYCOPLASMA: can’t be detected by light microscopy, lack a cell wall
RICKETTSIA and CHLAMYDIA: cannot be isolated or propagate on synthetic material
Why are antibiotics not used for viral infections? How can viruses be visualized if light microscopy cannot be used? How does the immune system typically respond to viral infections?
they have no effect on viruses and can make the situation worse by agitating the immune system
scanning or transmission microscopy
interferons (IFNs) and other cytokines are produced
What determines mutation rates in viruses?
the type of viral nucleic acids - DNA viruses do not get mutations as commonly as RNA viruses, possibly due to the instability of RNA
RNA polymerase integrity and transcriptional proofreading polymerases
When was the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) established? What are the 5 ranks used for taxonomy? What are the suffixes for each?
1966
- ORDER - group of virus families sharing certain common characters (virales)
- FAMILY - group of genera sharing sharing certain common characters (viridae)
- SUB-FAMILY - used when needed to solve complex hierarchical problems (virinae)
- GENUS - group of related species that share that share some significant properties (virus)
- SPECIES - few words (virus)
How do different species of the same genera of viruses typically differ from one another?
differ in host range and virulence
What are the 3 typical classification criteria/strategies used to name viruses?
- PHYSICAL PROPERTIES - type of viral nucleic acids, strandedness of nucleic acids (ss, ds), viral size, symmetry, capsomeres per virus, presence of absence of viral envelope
- CHEMICAL PROPERTIES - heat sensitivity, pH sensitivity
- BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES - cytopathology (site of replication, inclusion bodies), hemagglutination property, antigenic properties
What are the 3 possible layers of a virus?
- INNER CORE = nucleic acids
- OUTER MEMBRANE = viral capsid
- ADDITIONAL OUTER MEMBRANE = viral envelopes