Introduction To Microbiology - Viruses
Introduction To Microbiology - Viruses
Introduction To Microbiology - Viruses
2023
INTRODUCTION TO MICROBIOLOGY
VIRUSES
Textbook
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Schedule
8 Fungal Diversity
9 Plant Diversity
Introduction to Viruses
Chapter 26
Introduction to Viruses
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Tree of Life
Key Concepts
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Structure of Viruses
Viral Genomes
Viral genomes may consist of either
double- or single-stranded DNA or
double- or single-stranded RNA
Viruses are classified as DNA viruses or RNA viruses
The genome is either a single linear or circular
molecule of the nucleic acid
Viruses have between 3 and 2,000 genes in their
genome
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Structure of Viruses
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Both bacteria and archaea can protect themselves from viral infection
with the CRISPR-Cas system
It is based on sequences called clustered regularly interspaced short
palindromic repeats (CRISPRs)
Each “spacer” sequence between the repeats corresponds to DNA from a
phage that had infected the cell
Particular nuclease proteins interact with the CRISPR region; these are
called CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins
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When a phage infects a bacterial cell that has the CRISPR-Cas system, the
phage DNA is integrated between two repeat sequences
If the cell survives the infection, it can block any attempt of the same
type of phage to reinfect it
The attempt of the phage to infect the cell triggers transcription of the
CRISPR region
The resulting RNAs are cut into pieces and bound by Cas proteins
The Cas proteins use the phage-related RNA to target the invading phage
DNA
The phage DNA is cut and destroyed
Natural selection favors phage mutants that can bind to altered cell
surface receptors or that are resistant to enzymes
The relationship between phage and bacteria is in constant evolutionary
flux
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Viral Envelopes
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The viral DNA that is integrated into the host genome is called a
provirus
Unlike a prophage, a provirus remains a permanent resident of the
host cell
RNA polymerase transcribes the proviral DNA into RNA molecules
The RNA molecules function both as mRNA for synthesis of viral
proteins and as genomes for new virus particles released from the
cell
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Origin of Viruses
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Origin of Viruses
Three hypotheses (not mutually exclusive)
• Before cells – Virus first hypothesis
(1) Primordial genetic elements
• After cells
(2) Escape hypothesis – viruses arose from genetic
elements that gained the ability to move between cells
(3) Reduction hypothesis – viruses are remnants of
cellular organisms
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Viruses may damage or kill cells by causing the release of hydrolytic enzymes from
lysosomes
Some viruses cause infected cells to produce toxins that lead to disease symptoms
Others have molecular components such as envelope proteins that are toxic
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One cause of rapidly emerging viral disease in humans is mutation of existing viruses into new ones that
can spread more easily
A second cause is the spread of a viral disease from a small, isolated human population
A third cause is the spread of existing viruses from other animals
It is estimated that about three-quarters of new human diseases originate in this way
Emerging viruses are those that suddenly become apparent
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https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-timeline
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HCoV-229E
HCoV-OC43
HCoV-NL63
HCoV-HKU1
SARS-CoV
MERS-CoV
SARS-CoV-2
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https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/coldflu.htm
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Flu epidemics are caused by type A influenza viruses; these infect a wide variety of animals including birds,
pigs, horses, and humans
Strains of influenza A are given standardized names based on the viral surface proteins hemagglutinin (HA)
and neuraminidase (NA)
As of 2017 18 types of HA, and 11 types of neuraminidase, have been identified
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A deadly strain of H1N1, originally called the swine flu, was not
actually transmitted to humans from pigs
Instead, the story was more complex, H1N1 was a unique
combination of swine, avian, and human influenza genes
An epidemic of H1N1 occurred in 2009, reaching 207 countries,
infecting over 600,000 people and killing almost 8,000
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Prions are slow-acting, virtually indestructible infectious proteins that cause brain diseases in
mammals
Prions propagate by converting normal proteins into the prion version
Scrapie in sheep, mad cow disease, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans are all caused by prions
Prions are incorrectly folded proteins, can be transmitted in food, act slowly, and are virtually
indestructible
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