Viruses Flashcards
Are viruses cells?
NO
What are the most abundant microbes on earth?
Viruses
What is the study of viruses?
the science of virology
How are Viruses obligate intracellular parasites:
host cell for energy
metabolic intermediates
protein synthesis
Parasitic organisms (need host for metabolic/ growth needs)
Why is a virus not alive
A virus is a genetic element that can multiply only inside a living cell, called the host cell.
Does the virus or viron make you ill?
Virion makes you sick when you catch a cold because the virus is only the genetic information- it cannot travel from one cell to another
Who do enveloped viruses effect?
Enveloped viruses only affect animals
components of a virion:
- protects the viral genome when the virus is outside the host cell
- proteins on the virion surface are important in attaching it to its host cell.
Lysogenic pathway
the host cell is not destroyed and the viral genome becomes part of the host genome.
*Keeping host alive
Lytic pathway
The virus may replicate and destroy the host in a virulent infection via a lytic pathway
*Exploding host
Viruses can be classified on the basis of:
The hosts they infect
Their genome structure
Their morphology
The rout of infection
Beneficial viruses:
Because of their frequent medical and agricultural importance, disease-causing viruses have been extensively studied. However, not all viruses have negative effects on their hosts, and in some cases viruses are even beneficial to their hosts!
Plum pox virus:
Arabidopsis plants are infected with plum pox virus, the plant’s tolerance to drought increases due to virally induced production of the plant growth factor salicylic acid.
How does virus differ from cell:
Not alive, only genetic material
Why does virus need host cell?
Metabolism, reproduction, survival
Viral genomes are different because?
Different forms of DNA/RNA, can sit dormant in cells, take over other cells
