Virology Flashcards
How can viruses be grown?
Viruses can only be grown in living tissues.
1920 embryonated eggs found that they count be infected with viruses due to many different types of cells and nutritionally rich.
1950s cell structure found cells could be grown under sterile conditions and infected.
What is viral cytopathic effect?
Infect and kills cells, cells begin to round, have gaps form between them and bleb.
Describe scanning electron microscopes.
Produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focussed beam of electrons.
Example: 70-90nm
Describe transmission electron microscopy.
Provides very high resolution images. It images thin 100nms samples via the interaction of electrons as they pass through a specimen.
Example: 27-40nm
Describe cryo-electron microscopy.
Involves flash-freezing solutions of proteins or other biomolecules and then bombarding them with electrons to produce microscope images of individual molecules. These are used to reconstruct the 3D shape, or structure of the molecule.
Example: 18-25nm
What are the impacts of molecular biology on our understanding of viruses and virus disease?
- Basis for classification
- Understanding replication and pathogenesis
- Development of antiviral drugs
- Production of novel vaccines
- Understanding virus evolution
- New diagnostic tests
- Molecular epidemiology of viruses
What do viruses need from the host cell?
All viruses are dependent on the host cell as a source of energy and to provide raw materials.
All viruses use host cell machinery to replicate their genome and to synthesise new proteins.
What information is enclosed in the viral genome?
Pretty small genome and 1.5% of genome will encode for proteins.
What are viral gene products and regulatory signals required for?
- Replication of the genome
- Efficient expression of the genome
- Assembly and packaging of the genome
- Regulation and timing of the reproductive cycle
- Modulation of host defences
- Spread to other cells and hosts
What information is not contained in the viral genome?
- Genes encoding a complete protein synthesis machinery (for example, no ribosomal RNA and no ribosomal or translational proteins)
- Genes encoding proteins of energy metabolism or membrane biosynthesis
- Telomeres to maintain genes or centromeres to ensure segregation of genes
What are the types of viral DNA genomes?
DNA genomes:
- Double stranded DNA genome
- Single stranded DNA genome
RNA genomes:
- Positive sense single stranded RNA – equivalent of mRNA. If it gets into cell, it can directly make proteins.
- Negative sense single stranded RNA
- Double stranded RNA
What are positive and negative sense viruses?
Positive in order to make mRNA much be replicated via negative
Negative cannot make proteins straight away
What are the functions of viral proteins?
- Protection of the genome
- Delivery of the genome
- Help with viral replication
What are viral nucleic acids?
Virus nucleic acid is enclosed in a capsid, made of multiple protein subunits capsomers.
What are the functions of structural proteins?
- Packaging of genome and essential enzymes
- Protection of nucleic acid from UV light
- Protection form nucleases
- Provides specificity for attachment of virus
What is the nucleocapsid?
Nucleocapsid = nucleic acid + capsid
Describe icosahedrals.
- Sometimes capsomeres assemble into pentamers and hexamers.
- When no hexagons are present the resulting shape is called an icosahedron, which can be made of triangles arranged as overlapping pentamers.
- Icosahedral are polygons with 12 vertices, 20 faces and 30 edges.
- Each face is an equilateral triangle.
- Icosahedral capsid is the most stable and found in numerous viruses: adenovirus, picornavirus, papovavirus, herpes virus.
What is icosahedral symmetry?
Has axes of 2, 3 and 5 fold rotational symmetry.
What is the structure of adenovirus?
252 capsomeres = 12 pentons (one at each vertex) + 240 hexons (12 on each face)
What is the structure of foot and mouth virus?
60 trimeric capsomers. Trimeric proteins join groups of 5/pentamers.
What is the structure of feline calicivirus?
Capsomers are 90 dimers arranged in rings on the faces.
5 fold and 3 fold dimers join together a ring, which come together to form a capsid.
What is the structure of canine parvovirus?
12 pentamers and 20 hexamers
What is helical symmetry?
- Protein subunits can interact with each other and with the nucleic acid to form a coiled, ribbon like structure.
- The best studied virus with helical symmetry is the non-enveloped plant virus, tobacco mosaic virus.
- Most of the helical viruses are enveloped and all are RNA viruses.
What is the structure of rhabdovirus and orthomyoxovirus?
Helical nucleocapsids.
Bullet shaped with icosahedral nuclear capsid.
What is complex viral symmetry?
Do not strictly conform to a simple helical or icosahedral shape.
Poxviruses are large, oval or brick-shaped particles, 200-400nm long. Inside the complex virion, a dumbbell-shaped core encloses the viral DNA and is surrounded by 2 lateral bodies, the function if which is currently unknown.
What are peplomers/glycoprotein spikes?
- Glycoprotein (sugar proteins), which protrude from the surface of mature virions
- Can have enzymatic functions ]can be used to bind to cell receptors.
What are viral lipid enveloped?
- Lipid bi-layers from host cells are derived by budding.
- Many viruses with icosahedral but not symmetry have a membrane envelope.
- Most of the helical viruses are enveloped and all are RNA viruses.
What are the functions of viral envelopes?
- Protecting the viral RNA and DNA genomes
- Evading virus recognition by the immune system
- Facilitating virus entry into cells
What are the properties of rinderpest virus?
Enveloped, negative sense RNA, helical symmetry
What are the properties of equine herpes virus?
Enveloped virus, double stranded DNA genome, icosahedral nucleocapsid, revealed by detergent
How do viruses cause disease?
It is important to remember that viruses infect pets, food, animals, plants insects and wildlife throughout the world. The process by which viruses cause disease is called viral pathogenesis.
What does the nature of a virus depend on?
- The effects of viral reproduction on host cells
- The responses of the host’s defence systems
- The ability of the virus to spread in and among hosts
Why are viral infections not synonymous with disease?
As many viral infections can be subclinical/asymptomatic, whereas others result in disease of varying severity that is typically accompanied by characteristic clinical signs in the affected host.
Define pathogenicity.
Refers to the ability of an organisms to cause disease and harm the host. Qualitative term, an ‘all or none’ concept. For example, a virus is said to be either pathogenic or non-pathogenic.
Define virulence.
Refers to the degree of pathology caused by the organism. For example, virus A is more virulent in animal species Y than species Z.