Viruses By:

Dennie
Grace
Seal Tel
Jessica
 Virus
•classified as a non-cellular PARTICLE

•made up of protein-covered genetic material

•invades living cells

• Viruses grow and develop in the cells of specific hosts and depend on
these cells for respiration, nutrition, and all other functions of life to enable
them to reproduce

•They aren't considered living things as they do not metabolize energy or

perform cellular respiration.
.
Lytic Cycle
Penetration

Biosynthesis

Maturation

Lysis
Lysogenic Cycle
 Kinds of Viruses
Icosahedral
-12 vertices (high points)
-composed of 20 facets
-5:3:2 symmetry.
-each an equilateral triangle
 Kinds of Viruses
Helical
-single type of capsomer
-can be short and highly rigid, or long and very flexible
-single-stranded RNA
-length of a helical capsid is related to the length of the nucleic
acid
 Kinds of Viruses
Envelope
-Many viruses have viral envelopes
-typically derived from host cell membranes
-used to help viruses enter host cells
 Kinds of Viruses
Complex
-possess a capsid that is neither purely helical, nor purely icosahedral
-may possess extra structures ( protein tails or a complex outer wall)
-T-4 Phage (aka bacteriophage).
 Kinds of Viruses
DNA Viruses
-injects these strands into a host cell’s DNA and merges with it
-host cell then makes copies of the virus

RNA Viruses
-RNA instead of DNA
-RNA does NOT merge with the host’s DNA
-It “takes over” the cell and orders it to make more copies of itself

Retrovirus Viruses
-“special” type of RNA viruses
-contain RNA but once injected into a host cell, the RNA changes into DNA
and merges with the host’s DNA
-the changed RNA orders the cell to make copies of itself.
 How They Spread
- through air (airborne)
- skin to skin contact
- bodily fluids/Inoculation
- many other methods

Factors for severity of spread

- size of population of opportunity
- # of days contagious
- # of people in contact with infected
- probability of contracting virus
Viruses spread faster among humans the longer it’s alive

Some viruses are more contagious at specific times than others

 Examples of Viruses
Cancer
-Benign tumors known to be caused by retroviruses.
Affect’s cell’s ability to produce functional replicas.

-Retroviruses cause 2/4 known types of leukemia (acute &

chronic)

-Infects bone marrow

-Acute leukemia: too many

immature white blood cells

-Chronic leukemia: produces

white blood cells normally
but unable to function properly
 Examples of Viruses
Rabies (Rhabdoviridae)
-Spread by infected saliva but can also be infected in other
various ways.

-The most common way to get infected is a bite from a

rabid animal

-Incubation period ranges from 10 days to 7 years. Average

is 3-7 weeks.

-Virus spreads along the nerves and spinal chord to the

brain.
It multiplies in central nervous system and travels down to
salivary glands.
 Examples of Viruses
Herpes (HSV-1 & HSV-2)
- HSV virus is undetectable during primary stage
- Two forms: oral and genital
- Spread through bodily fluids
- Attacks vulnerable cells in skin tissue and reproduces in
cell’s nuclei
- No apparent symptoms until virus destroys host cell
- This disease is treatable, but there is no known cure.
- The physical symptoms of the virus may disappear after
two to ten days of treatment, but the virus remains inside
the body of the affected host.
 Bibliography
•Martinko, Michael T.;, and John M. Madigan. Brock Biology of Microorganisms
-- Eleventh 11th Edition. Eleventh Edition ed. Louisville, KY: Pearson; Prentice
Hall, 2006. Print.
•Moulton, Glen. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Biology (The Complete Idiot's
Guide). New York: Alpha, 2004. Print.
"Penn State Hershey. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010.
<http://www.hmc.psu.edu/healthinfo/r/rabies.htm>.
•"Virus Ultrastructure."University of Cape Town / Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 4
Oct. 2010. http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/mmi/stannard/linda.html
•"Virology Structure."indexgraph.jpg. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.nlv.ch/Virologytutorials/Structure.htm>