Virology: intro, structure + taxonomy

Question 1

What are virus particles made up of?

Answer 1

• nucleic acid (RNA/DNA)
• (lipid envelope)- stolen from cell
• structural proteins- protect nucleic acid

Question 3

What are viruses and what do they use from the cell?

Answer 3

• parasites
• use:
  
  • nucleotides
  • amino acids
  • protein-synthesizing machinery
  • energy

Question 4

What is the function of the non-structural proteins in viruses? where do they come from?

Answer 4

• not part of the capsid
• made when the virus enters the cell to help the virus take over the cell
• generated from the viral gene in infected cell

Question 5

What are the main arguments for viruses being alive?

Answer 5

• can evolve and change efficiently
• do make offspring

Question 6

WHat are the main arguments for why viruses arent alive?

Answer 6

• dont repire/ no mitochondria
• cannot multiplly without host
• no sexual repro
• dont make own ATP

Question 7

Describe virus taxonomy

Answer 7

• order- virales
• family - viridae
• subfamilies - virinae
• genus
• type species/ species

Question 8

How are viruses classified?

Answer 8

• the nucleic acid genome
• the shared physical properties of the infectious agent (e.g. capsid symmetry)
• replication strategy (mRNA creation)

Question 9

What is the Baltimore classification system?

Answer 9

• based on genetic contents and replication strategies of viruses
• viruses divided into 7 classes:
  
  • dsDNA
  • ssDNA
  • dsRNA
  • (+) sense ssRNA
  • (-) sense ssRNA
  • RNA reverse transcribing
  • DNA reverse transcribing