Virology Flashcards
What is the most abundant life form in the human body?
Bacteriophages
What percent of our DNA is retrovirally infected?
8% and it accumulated through evolutionary time
What kind of diseases do viruses cause?
- Acute (ex. cold)
- Persistent (hepatic and herpes)
- Recurrent (herpes)
Largest virus
Pox Virus (and more recently minivirus)
DNA virus v. RNA virus
We call it a “DNA virus” if there is DNA in the virion
We call it an “RNA virus” if there is RNA in the virion
How do viruses replicate?
Viruses replicate by de novo assembly of preformed components. virus cannot do anything on itself. They go into the cell, and tell the cell make more viruses.
So every one cell can make hundreds or thousands new viruses, there is no doubling, no mitotic events, simply a factory.
Attributes of Viruses
1) they are obligate intracellular parasites
2) They can influence behavior (sneezing or coughing) in order to spread but they have no means of locomotion, metabolism, or energy alone
Discovering viruses of Ancient Times
With the help of DNA sequencing, we can go back and look at mummies and determine what viruses they may have had (i.e. Hep B in mummies thought to have smallpox)
Viral diseases described in ancient sources
Rabies Measles Smallpox Polio Yellow fever
Not until the description of DNA and RNA as the genetic material of life has the true nature of viruses become understood.
New Polio-like virus killing and paralyzing children
Acute Flaccid Myelitis, AFM
Biggest Concern for destroying us all
Flu or flu like virus because respiratory infections are the best way to rapidly spread something
(ex. measles)
Ways of Classifying Viruses
- Phylogeny
- Host Range
- Disease caused
- Tissues infected
- Capsid structure
- Presence or Absence of lipid envelope
- Viral genome (RNA or DNA)
- Segmented or non-segmented
- single or double stranded
- (+) sense or (-) sense
Where does a virus replicate its genome?
Either in the nucleus or the cytoplasm
RNA VIRUSES MAINLY REPLICATE IN THE CYTOPLASM
What protects the genome of a virus?
a protein coat called a CAPSID
Define Envelope
A lipid bilayer surrounding the capsid
Naked Virus
A virus with no envelope but do have a capsid.
Most naked viruses emerge from cells by cell lysis (bursting of the cell and kill the cell on its way out)
Where does the envelope in viruses come from?
They acquire a cell derived lipid bilayer by emerging from the cell via budding or from intracellular membranes.
Envelope Glycoproteins
transmembrane glycosylated proteins extending from the envelope which mediate attachment and entry of enveloped viruses into cells.
They are major determinants of cell tropism.
Envelope protein are major viral antigens.
They are usually trimers
Nucleocapsid
The capsid + the viral genome. Both naked and enveloped viruses have this
Enveloped viruses are sensitive to what?
- Detergents
- Heat
- Drying
- Bleach
Naked viruses are resistant to what?
- Detergents
- Heat
- Drying
- pH
- Proteases
Icosahedral
most animal viruses have an icosahedral capsid
best way to maximize internal volume with minimal number of similar subunits
20 faces - equilateral triangles
12 vertices - with 5 fold symmetry
Pentons make up the vertices
Hexons make up the sides
Helical
Human helical viruses all have RNA genomes
e.g. influenza virus
Complex
Pox viruses - helical structure plus some other structures that are not understood.
Self-Assembly
When a critical concentration of viral components is reached at the proper location in the cell, these parts self assemble into viral subunits and then into whole viruses as it is a naturally energy efficient shape
Five Basic Structural Forms of Animal Viruses
1) Naked Icosahedral
2) Enveloped Icosahedral
3) Naked Helical
4) Enveloped Helical
5) Complex Viruses
Bacteriophage Structure
Icosahedral head, helical body which act like a syringe, they inject their nucleic acid into the cell, and they get this feet that look like space ship.
Viral Replication, or the infectious cycle
From one virus binding to a cell to the production of new infectious viruses
Early:
Adsorption - binding to cell - the host range of the virus is often controlled here
Penetration - enters cell
Uncoating - releases viral genome within cell
Migration of genome to nucleus (many viruses, not all)
Late:
Replication of viral nucleic acid - replication of genome (DNA or RNA) Can happen in the cytoplasm or the nucleus, depending on the virus.
Transcription from genome yielding mRNA
Translation of mRNA to produce viral proteins
Assembly - virions constructed from viral proteins and nucleic acids
can happen in the nucleus or the cytoplasm, or a combination of the two
Release of virions - via budding or cell lysis
Spread to new host - transmission of virus to new cell or to new individual