Viruses:: The Non-Living Entity

CHAPTER 2
VIRUSES:
THE NON-LIVING ENTITY
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?
 Its so 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
 Virus is a tiny particle consisting of nucleic acid core
(genetic material) surrounded by a protein coat called
capsid.
 Nucleic acid either DNA or RNA, but not both.
 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, and
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.
 Some virus are also surrounded by an
outer membranous envelope containing
proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and traces of
metal.
 The envelope surrounding the capsid/
nucleocapsid
 A typical small virus (e.g. poliovirus) is about
20nm whereas larger virus (e.g. poxvirus)
might be 400nm long and 200nm wide.
 Without a host cell, viruses cannot carry out
their life-sustaining functions or reproduce.
 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, and
3. Whether they have a lipid envelope
surrounding the nucleocapsid or the
capsid enclosed nucleic acid.
1. DNA viruses
2. RNA viruses
cont.
Virus Life Cycle: 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.
1) Attachment: Virus attaches to receptors on the host
(bacteria) cell wall.
2) Penetration: Nucleic acid of the virus move through
membrane and into the cytoplasm of the host.
3) Replication: Virus induces the host cell to synthesize the
necessary component for its replication.
4) Assembly: Newly synthesized viral components
assembled into new virus
5) 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) Attachment: Virus attaches to receptors on
the host (bacteria) cell wall.
2) Penetration: Nucleic acid of the virus move
through membrane and into the cytoplasm of
the host.
3) Integration: Phage DNA integrates into
bacterial DNA and become prophage.
4) 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 host’s 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.
Membrane fusion of virus with
host’s plasma membrane
Endocytosis of host’s plasma
membrane
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, the retrovirus that
causes AIDS
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.
Food & mouth
Canine distemper disease
Mumps
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.
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.
 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
Plant infected with viroids (RG-1)
 Prions is a 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
brain’s 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?
 A hypothesis on propagation process of
prion
 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.

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CHAPTER 2

1. The type and size of their nucleic acid,

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