Viral Structure and Multiplication Flashcards
are viruses cellular or acellular?
acellular
describe extracellular viral activity
inactive
describe intracellular viral activity
activate by hijacking host
how do viruses exist intracellularly and what do they do?
exists as nucleic acid, comandeer host cell
describe 4 overview things that viruses are
- major cause of disease
- important members of aquatic world
- importantin evolution
- important model systems in molecular biology
are viruses all bad?
no, they aare also important as sources of therapy
how are virsus used as a source of therapy?
use viral mechanisms with desired added genetic material
how are viruses important members of the aquatic world?
they move organic matter from particulate to dissolved
how are viruses important in evolution?
they transfer genes between bacteria, others
what are bacterial viruses called? (2)
- bacteriophages
2. phages
are there a lot of archaeal viruses?
no
what cells do most viruses infect?
eukaryotic
what 5 things are viruses classified into families based on?
- genome structure
- life cycle
- morphology
- genetic relatedness
- enveloped or non-enveloped
give a bacterial comparison point for the size of most viruses
most are 1/100th the size of E.coli
can viruses be seen with regular microscopes?
no, need an electron microscope
what are some of the largest animal viruses?
pox viruses
approx howsmall are most viruses?
20nm in diameter
what do all viruses contain?
a nucleocapsid which is composed of: nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and a protein coat
what are capsids?
large macromolecular structures which serve as protein coat of virus
what is the role of capsids?
protect viral genetic material and aid in its transfer between host cells
what are capsids made of?
protein subunits called protomers
what are the 3 capsid shapes?
- helical
- icosahedral
- complex
describe the shape of helical capsids
shaped like hollow tubes with protein walls
what determines the length of a helical capsid?
amount of nucleic acid
how to protomers assemble in a helical capsid?
self-assemble
describe the shape of an icosahedral capsid
regular polyhedron with 20 equilateral faces and 12 vertices (soccer ball with faces)
what are capsomers in icosahedral capsids?
ring or knob-shaped units made of 5 (pentons) or 6 (hexons) subunit capsomers
give 2 examples of complex viruses
- pox virus
2. large bacteriophages with binal symmetry
describe the binal symmetry of large bacteriophages (complex viruses)
head resembles icosahedral, tail is helical
what is a viral envelope?
an outer, flexible membranous layer that binds together many viruses
what are animal virus envelopes made of and what do they normall arise from?
lipids and carbohydrates, from host cell plasma or nuclear membranes, acquired as virus leaves host
what do some viral envelopes contain, and what are they often used for?
enzymes, often used for replication of the genome
describe viral envelope proteins?
evelope proteins, which are viral encoded, may project from the envelope sirface as spikes or peplomers