Biology 512 - General Virology

10:00 -10:50 am, MWF

2023 Haworth Hall
Instructors: Dr. Constance Hallberg
Dr. David Davido
Virology - the study of viruses
Includes:
- structure of viruses
- virus replication
- virus - host interaction
- evolution of viruses
- virus epidemiology
- diseases caused by viruses
Viruses infect almost all organisms
Including:
- Bacteria
- Algae
- Plants
- Fungi
- Insects
- Other Invertebrates
- Vertebrates
 Discovery of viruses

1892: First observation of a filterable infectious agent

tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)

1898: First description of a filterable animal infectious agent

foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV)

1901: First identification of a human virus

yellow fever (YF) virus
 Viruses in human history

Was Alexander the

Great killed by
1580-1350 B.C. Striped tulips
West Nile virus?
withered leg appeared in 1576
poliovirus tulip mosaic virus
New viruses emerge in addition to those already known

Previously known: Recently emerged:

- influenza virus - HIV
- respiratory syncytial virus - Nipah virus
- dengue virus - Ebola virus
- West Nile virus - Sin Nombre virus
- measles - SARS coronavirus
Viruses are important tools in molecular and cellular biology

Nobel Prizes involving virology:

- cellular oncogenes first discovered due to their presence

in retroviruses that could transform cells (1966, F. Rous)

- discovery of reverse transcriptase from retroviruses

(1975; D. Baltimore, H. Temin)

- use of restriction enzymes and recombinant DNA

technology using SV40 virus (1978; D. Nathans, P. Berg)
 What is a virus?
Properties of viruses:
- an infectious, obligate, intracellular parasite
- viral genome is comprised of DNA or RNA
- viral genome is replicated within a host cell and viral
components are synthesized by cellular machinery
- a virion, or infectious virus particle, is assembled from
newly synthesized viral proteins and viral genome
- progeny virions transmit the viral genome to new host
cells to initiate the next infectious cycle
 Major components of a virion
1. viral genome
comprised of DNA or RNA
2. capsid or nucleocapsid
capsid: protein shell surrounding the viral
genome in a virus particle
nucleocapsid: a nucleic acid - protein assembly
packaged within the virion
3. envelope - host cell derived lipid bilayer containing
viral glycoproteins
the outer layer of many virus particles
 Classification of viruses

1. Virion morphology:

- virion size
- virion shape
- capsid symmetry
- presence or absence of an envelope

examples: Fig. 2.1

Virion morphology
 Classification of viruses
2. Genome structure:
- RNA: single or double stranded
segmented or non-segmented
positive or negative sense
RNA-dependent RNA replication
- DNA: single or double stranded
DNA-dependent DNA replication
- viruses that encode reverse transcriptase
RNA or DNA
 Classification of viruses
3. Biologic properties:
- replication strategy
genome type
host involvement
- host range
plant viruses
insect viruses
viruses of vertebrates
- mode of transmission
arboviruses
 ICTV classification
International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
Order ....virales
Example – Mononegavirales
viruses with a single piece of negative sense RNA as a genome
Family ....viridae
Fundamental unit of virus taxonomy
Table 1.2 lists major virus families
Subfamily ....virinae
Genus ....virus
 ICTV classification
Example:
Family: Herpesviridae
Subfamily:Alphaherpesvirinae
Genus: Simplexvirus (HSV-1)
causative agent of cold sores
Varicellovirus (VZV)
causative agent of chickenpox and
shingles