Virology is the study of viruses (Latin, virus

means poison).
 It is concerned with their form, structure,
replication, physiology, metabolism and
classification. It includes the study of their
distribution in nature, their relationship with
other living organisms, their effects on
human and other animals and plants, their
abilities to make physico-chemical changes
in our environment and their reactions to
physico-chemical agents.
 Viruses are ultramicroscopic obligate
intracellular parasites (agents) incapable of
independent growth. They are much smaller
than bacteria and can pass through pores of
filters which do not permit the passage of
(most) bacteria.
 i) in cells of higher plants
 ii) in bacteria (bacteriophages, phages)
 iii) in cells of animals
 Viruses exist in two states:
 i) Extracellular infectious particles (virions)
 ii) Intracellular viral nucleic acids
 Life can be viewed as a complex set of
processes resulting from the actuation of the
instructions encoded in the nucleic acids. In
the nucleic acids of living cells, these are
actuated all the time; in contrast, in a virus,
they are actuated only when the viral nucleic
acid, upon entering a host cell, causes
synthesis of virus-specific proteins.
 Viruses are thus ‘alive’ when they replicate in
cells, while outside cells viral particles are
metabolically inert and are no more than
fragments of DNA/RNA.
 Ranges from 20 - 400 nm in diameter
 20 - 100 nm (small viruses)
 100 - 200 nm (medium viruses)
 200 - 400 nm (large viruses).
 Viruses are generally 100 times smaller than

bacteria
 Morphology:
 i) Icosahedral (polyhedral or spherical)
 ii) Helical (cylindrical or rod -like)
 iii) Complex (Bacteriophages)
 Composition: A structurally complete virus
particle (virion) consists of a nucleic acid core
(RNA or DNA) surrounded by a protein coat
(capsid), to form a nucleocapsid.
 In some animal viruses, the nucleocapsid is
surrounded an outer membrane-like
structure called envelope (lipoproteins)
derived from the plasma or nuclear
membrane of the host.
 Virions consisting of nucleocapsid only are
said to be naked, whereas those with
nucleocapsid surrounded with host derived
membrane are said to be enveloped.
 i) Enveloped virus (icosahedral, spherical) e.g.
herpes simplex virus, HIV
 ii) Naked virus (icosahedral, spherical) e.g.

poliovirus, adenovirus
 iii) Enveloped virus (helical) e.g.

orthomyxovirus, paramyxovirus, rhabdovirus,

coronavirus
 Complex viruses like the bacteriophages
consist of nucleic acid in the head which is
attached to the tail through the neck and
collar. At the end of the tail is the base with
tail fibers.
 Viruses lack the cellular structure (they are
acellular) seen in bacteria, plants and
animals). They have no cytoplasm, hence no
cellular organelles. They utilize host
ribosomes for protein synthesis during
replication i.e. they lack independent
metabolism (metabolically inactive) and
cannot be cultivated in cell-free media
 Viruses have no power of growth and
division. Only genetic material (RNA or DNA)
is capable of replication in the host cell.
Therefore viruses posses only two
fundamental characteristics of living
systems i.e.
 i) They contain nucleic and (RNA or DNA) as

their genetic material.

 ii) Can reproduce by replication using host

cell’s synthesis machinery.

 Hence, viruses are infectious agents at the
borderline of life and the non-living.
 Many smaller viruses can be crystallized,

hence behave like chemicals.

 Attempts have been made by various
scientists to classify viruses but many of the
classifications have limited use.
 They include:
 1. Classification based on type of host
 i) Plant viruses
 ii) Bacteria viruses
 iii) Animal viruses
 Examples:
 Enveloped animal viruses: herpesviruses,
poxviruses (some members are naked),
parvoviruses, togaviruses, rhabdoviruses,
paramyxoviruses, orthomyxoviruses,
bunyaviruses, coronaviruses, arenaviruses,
retroviruses
 Naked animal viruses: papovaviruses,
adenoviruses, reoviruses, picornaviruses,
poxviruses (some members are enveloped)
2. Based on disease caused: poliovirus,
hepatitis virus, rabies virus

3. Based on tissue affinities:

 neurotropic (nerve tissue) viruses
 dermatropic (skin tissue) viruses

This classification is only useful to physicians,

epidemiologists and some allied health
investigators.
 4. The LHT system of classification: After
the scientists Lwoff Andre, Horne Robert
and Tourner Paul. (1962).
 Classifies viruses based on:
 i) Type nucleic acid - DNA or RNA
 ii) Symmetry of virion - helical, cubic, cubic
tailed etc.
 iii) Presence or absence of envelope.
 iv) Diameter of helical capsid
 v) Number of morphological units
(capsomeres) in cubic types.
 This (LHT) classification system is not natural
and does not show any evolutionary
phylogenetic relationships. It classifies
viruses on the basis of common chemical
structural features which can be accurately
determined.
5 Baltimore classification:
 is based on the mechanism of mRNA
production. Viruses must generate mRNAs
from their genomes to produce proteins and
replicate themselves, but different
mechanisms are used to achieve this in each
virus family. Viral genomes may be single-
stranded (ss) or double-stranded (ds), RNA
or DNA, and may or may not use reverse
transcriptase (RT). Additionally, ssRNA
viruses may be either sense (+) or antisense
(-). This classification places viruses into
seven groups:
 I:dsDNA viruses (e.g. Adenoviruses, Herpesviruses,
Poxviruses)
 II: ssDNA viruses (+)sense DNA (e.g. Parvoviruses)
 III: dsRNA viruses (e.g. Reoviruses)
 IV: (+) ssRNA viruses (+)sense RNA (e.g.
Picornaviruses, Togaviruses)
 V: (-) ssRNA viruses (-)sense RNA (e.g.
Orthomixoviruses, Rhabdoviruses)
 VI: ssRNA-RT viruses (+)sense RNA with DNA
intermediate in life-cycle (e.g. Retroviruses)
 VII: dsDNA-RT viruses (e.g. Hepadnaviruses)
 Classification recommended by the International
Committee on the Nomenclature of Viruses (ICNV):
 This latest classification is based on:
 Primary characteristics:
 i) Chemical nature of nucleic acid: RNA or DNA,
single stranded or double stranded, single or
 segmented genome, positive or negative strand.
 ii) Structure of virion: helical, icosahedral,
complex, naked, enveloped, number of capsomeres
etc.
 iii) Size (diameter) of virion nucleocapsid (helical
viruses)
 iv) Site of replication (cytoplasm or nucleus).
 Secondary characteristics:
 i) Host range (species, tissue, cell type)
 ii) Mode of transmission (faeco-oral, vector-

borne, etc.)
 iii) Specific surface structures e.g. antigenic

properties (serotypes)
 1. A code of bacterium nomenclature
should not be used for viruses
 2. Nomenclature should be international
 3. Nomenclature should be universally
applied to all viruses
 4. It is necessary to Latinize nomenclature
i.e. original Latin names should be retained
in physical conditions
 5. No person’s name should be used
 6. No priority should be given in naming
viruses
 9. Ending of names should be as follows:
 Order - virales
 Family - viridae
 Subfamily - virinae
 Genera - virus
 10. Names approved by ICNV are international
names, and those not approved are English
vernacular names.
 11. Viruses are grouped into 3 different categories
in relation to the type member.
 i) Other members
 ii) Probable members
 ii) Possible members
 Other members have properties similar to
those of the type member. They belong to
the same family/group/genus.
 Probable members are viruses whose

available information suggests that they

belong to the same family/group/genus
with the type member.
 Possible members are viruses that are likely

to belong to the same group as the type

member.