VIRUS

THE NON-LIVING ENTITY

LESSON OUTCOME

Describe and explain the

characteristics, unique life history and
common features of each major group
of living things.

CONTENT

Structure and Characteristics of

viruses
Lytic and Lysogenic life cycles of
bacteriophage
Viroids and Prions

HISTORY OF VIRUS

Early 20th century, scientists discovered

infectious agents that could cause disease in
animals or kill bacteria.
These pathogens passed through filters that
usually removed bacteria. Means?
The size is very small that they could not be
seen with the light microscope.
They could not be grown in laboratory
cultures unless living cell are present.

CHARACTERISTICS

tiny particle consisting of nucleic acid core

(genetic material) surrounded by a protein
coat called capsid.
Some virus are also surrounded by an outer
membranous envelope containing proteins,
lipids, carbohydrates and traces of metal.
A typical small virus (e.g. poliovirus) is about
20nm whereas larger virus (e.g. poxvirus)
might be 400nm long and 200nm wide.

Capsid made up of protein organized in subunits known

as capsomeres. Capsid has 3 functions:
a. It protects the nucleic acid from digestion by
enzymes.
b. Contains special sites on its surface that allow
the virus to attach to a host cell,
c. Provides proteins that enable the virus to
penetrate the host cell membrane and to inject
the infectious nucleic acid into the cell's
cytoplasm.

Viruses are not cellular and cannot

independently perform metabolic activity.
They do not have the components for cellular
respiration or synthesize proteins and other
molecules.
Viruses contain either DNA or RNA, not both
(like living organisms).
Viruses can reproduce, but only within the
environment of the living cells they infect
(viruses come alive only when they infect a
cell).

They cannot synthesize proteins, because

they lack ribosomes and must use the
ribosomes of their host cells to translate viral
messenger RNA into viral proteins.
Viruses cannot generate or store energy
(ATP), but have to derive their energy, and all
other metabolic functions, from the host cell.
They also parasitize the cell for basic building
materials, such as amino acids, nucleotides,
and lipids (fats).

SHAPE OF VIRUS

The shape of virus is determined by the

capsid. Viral capsid are generally either helical
or polyhedral or combination of both shapes.
Helical long rods or threads. e.g. tobacco
mosaic virus
Polyhedral spherical. e.g. adenovirus
However, the T4 phage consists of a
polyhedral head attached to a helical tail.

Helical virus

Polyhedral virus

Combination shape polyhedral

head with helical tail

Viruses are further classified into families and

genera based on three structural considerations:

1.The type and size of their nucleic acid,

2. The size and shape of the capsid,
3. Whether they have a lipid envelope
surrounding the nucleocapsid or the capsid
enclosed nucleic acid.

1. DNA viruses

2. RNA viruses

cont.

PHAGES (Bacterial virus)

The most common structure of phages

consists of a long nucleic acid molecule
(usually DNA) coiled within a polyhedral head.
Many phages have a tail attached to the
head. The fibers extending from the tail are
used to attach to a bacterium.
Exhibit two types of reproduction: lytic and
lysogenic cycle

Lytic reproductive cycle

In lytic reproduction cycle, the virus lyses

(destroys) the host cell.
When the virus infects a susceptible host cell,
it forces the host to use its metabolic
machinery to replicate viral particles.
Viruses that have only lytic cycle are described
as virulent.
Five steps that are typical in lytic cycle are
attachment, penetration, replication,
assembly and release (aprar)

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

Attachment: Virus attaches to receptors on the host

(bacteria) cell wall.
Penetration: Nucleic acid of the virus move through
membrane and into the cytoplasm of the host.
Replication: Virus induces the host cell to synthesize
the necessary component for its replication.
Assembly: Newly synthesized viral components
assembled into new virus
Release: Assembled virus released from the cell.
The host cell is destroyed.

LYTIC CYCLE

Lysogenic reproductive cycle

In contrast with virulent virus, temperate virus

do not always destroy their hosts.
In lysogenic cycle, the viral genome usually
become integrated into the host bacterial cell
(referred to as prophage).
When the bacterial DNA replicates, the
prophage also replicates.
Bacterial cells containing certain temperate
viruses may exhibit new properties.
There are 4 steps in lysogenic cycle.

1)

2)

3)

4)

Attachment: Virus attaches to receptors on

the host (bacteria) cell wall.
Penetration: Nucleic acid of the virus move
through membrane and into the cytoplasm of
the host.
Integration: Phage DNA integrates into
bacterial DNA and become prophage.
Replication: The integrated prophage
replicates when bacterial DNA replicates.

ANIMAL VIRUS

Hundreds of different viruses infect human and

other animals.
Most virus cannot survive outside a living host
cell, so their survival depends on their being
transmitted from animal to animal.
The type of attachment proteins on the
surface determines what type of cell it can
infect.
e.g. human cell only, or sometimes its more
specific, e.g. brain cell only.

How virus penetrate animal cell?

Virus have several ways to penetrate animal cells:

1) Membrane fusion: Viral envelope fuses with
plasma membrane and release virus into cytoplasm.
2) Endocytosis: the hosts plasma membrane
invaginates to form a membrane-bound vesicle that
contain virus.
Virus that infect animal cells can multiply and produce
new particles. When viral DNA/RNA/protein are
synthesized, the host DNA/RNA/protein are inhibited.

DNA and RNA virus

Basically animal virus is categorized into DNA

virus and RNA virus; depending on their
nucleic acid type.

1) DNA virus
e.g. poxvirus, adenovirus.
The synthesis of viral DNA and protein is
similar to the host process of synthesizing its
own DNA and protein.

2) RNA virus
RNA replication and transcription is take place
with the help of RNA polymerase.
However, certain RNA virus called retrovirus
have DNA polymerase called reverse
transcriptase used to transcribe RNA into DNA
intermediate.
This DNA becomes integrated into host DNA.
Copies of viral RNA are synthesized as the
incorporated DNA is transcribed by host RNA
polymerase.

After viral genes are transcribed, the viral

structural protein are synthesized.
Capsid is produced, and new virus particles
are assembled.
For virus without envelope, the host membrane
ruptured, releasing new virus particle.
Enveloped virus receive their envelope by
picking up a fragment of the host plasma
membrane (lipoprotein) as they leave the cell.

The reproductive cycle of an enveloped RNA virus.

The structure of HIV, the retrovirus that causes AIDS.

The envelope glycoproteins enable the virus to bind to specific

receptors on certain white blood cells.

The reproductive cycle of HIV, a retrovirus.

How virus damage their host?

Animal viruses damage their host in a variety

ways:
1) May alter the permeability of plasma
membrane
2) May inhibit synthesis of host nucleic acid
or proteins
3) Damage cell by their sheer numbers (e.g.
poliovirus produces 100,000 new viruses
within a single host cell).

Diseases cause by animal virus

- Hog cholera
- Rubella
- Foot-and-mouth disease
- Chickenpox
- Canine distemper
- Warts
- Swine influenza
- Mumps
- Certain types of cancer
- Colds
- AIDS
- Hepatitis
- Ebola (emerging virus*)
*Emerging virus are virus that can strike
quickly and brings fatal diseases that either
new to human population or unpredictably
cause an epidemic.

PLANT VIRUS

Plant cells cannot be penetrated by virus

because of the thick cell wall unless the
cells are damaged.
As insects e.g. aphids and leafhoppers feed on
plant tissues, they brings virus and spread it
among plants.
The viruses then can be inherited by infected
seed or asexual propagation.
Once a plant cell is infected, the virus spreads
through the plant body.

Symptoms of viral infection include reduced

plant size, spots, streaks, or mottled
patterns on leaves, flowers or fruits.
Infected crop almost produce lower yields.
Cures are not known for most plant viral
diseases, so it is common to burn plant that
have been infected.

NEXT

VIROIDS AND PRIONS

Viroids and prions are smaller than virus

Viroids have no protein, consists of very short
strand of RNA (250-400 nucleotides), no
protective protein coat. Can infect plants and
animals.
Prions is a protein-like infectious pathogen
that could exists and transfer information
without nucleic acids. Usually infected
animals including human.

Viroids DO NOT encode protein- replicate in

host cell using cellular enzymes.
Cause error in regulatory system that control
plant growth..eg: abnormal development
and stunted growth

Prions - protein-like infectious pathogen

that could exists and transfer information
without nucleic acids.
Prions are protein-like infectious form of
protein particles that may increase in
number by converting related proteins to
more prions.
Usually infected animals including human.
Prions (infectious protein) cause
degenerative brain diseases in animals sp.

It is thought to be responsible for some neurological

diseases such as a group of transmissible and/or
inherited neurodegenerative diseases including
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans (death of the
brains nerve cells) mad cow disease, scrapie in sheep
and goats and kuru.
Kuru infects its victims when they eat the brain tissue
of the victims.
The mad cow disease that was first detected in
England and parts of Europe a few years ago is in fact
a new prion disease and it has caused the use of beef
in Britain to fall precipitously.
Most likely transmitted in food.
Why prions are fatal to animal/human?

Because.

Prions are very slow-acting agents

incubation period until symptoms appear
is around 10 years.
Virtually indestructible they are not
destroyed of deactivated by heating
(normal cooking temp.)
No cure so far for prions diseases.

A hypothesis on propagation process of

prion