• Interferon is a protein that is secreted by animals and inhibit

the replication of virus.

• Virus is derived from a Latin word meaning “poison or slimy
liquid”.

Life –Form

• Viruses are called as “organisms at the edge of life”.

 On one hand, they have genes and nucleic acid that make up
all living organisms.

 On the other hand, they lack the ability to read and act upon
information contained in nucleic acid.

They do not have their own metabolism.

Types / Groups of Virus
Virus are classified into four groups based on shape.

1. Filamentous: long and cylindrical e.g plants,TMV

(Tobacco mosaic virus).
2. Isometric/ icosahedral: roughly spherical e.g
poliovirus.
3. Enveloped: have membrane surrounding the
capsid e.g HIV
4. Head and tail: infect bacteria. Have head similar to
isometric & a tail shape like filamentous virus e.g
bacteriophage.
Types on basis of Host
• Animal virus: Rabies, polio
• Plant virus: TMV, Carrot thin leaf virus
• Bacteriophage: T1, T2….T4
Types on basis of genetic consequences
• DNA virus: DNA genome….double & single stranded
• RNA virus: RNA genome
(single,double,linear,circular)
positive sense RNA: immediately translate
negative sense RNA: gene converted into proper
form then translate.
segmented RNA
 TMV(Tobacco Mosaic Virus)
• Louis pasture: found a pathogen ,too small to be
detected by microscope.
• Charles Chamberland(1884): invented
Chamberland filter which remove all bacteria from
solution passed through it.
• Ivanovsky(1892): used this filter which leads to
discovery of TMV. He thought that infection of
tobacco might be due to bacteria.
• Martinus(1898): reported that disease was due to a
new infectious agent called TMV(1st virus).
• It is single stranded RNA virus.
• It effects tobacco, tomato, pepper, cucumber and
ornamental flowers.
• Causes characteristic patterns called mosaic.
• Causes discoloration of young leaves.
• Developed mosaic of light and dark green areas.
• Causes stunted growth
• Leaf burn
• Elongated leaves
• Wrinkles on leaves
• Usually effect in hot and dry weather.
Economic Importance
Harmful effects:
Pathogen: Flu, small pox, AIDS, Chicken pox
Cytopathic effects: damage the cell & change its
microscopic appearance
Oncovirus: tumors
Beneficial effects:
Genetic engineering: harmless virus used as genetic
vectors
• Stimulate immune system to produce antibodies
• Produce enzymes e.g
polymerase( DNA,RNA),replicase(copy RNA)
• Bio Control: prevent spread of plant & animal
pathogens called bio control
• Farmers can spray a dilute soln. of phage to prevent
bacterial destruction
• Genetic manipulation: used in cloning/genomic
library
• Replace problematic human tissues