What is a virus?

Virus: An infectious particle that is nonliving.

The word virus comes

from the Latin word
poison
meaning “______.”
 All viruses are parasites.
All viruses require a host.
Parasites:
Parasites live in or on other
living organisms, causing
them harm.

Host:
The host is the living organism the
parasite lives on.
Martinus Beijerinck Beijerinck is considered the
Dutch Scientist founder of _______.
virology
1898
Virology is:
The study of viruses.

In 1898, he used
filtration experiments
to prove that:
an agent smaller
He was the first than a bacterium was
causing tobacco
to name these mosaic disease.
very small
particles
“_______.”
viruses
 Wendell Stanley:
American
biochemist
1904 - 1971
In 1935, Stanley was
able to isolate crystals
of the tobacco mosaic
virus.

Living organisms do not

crystallize, so Stanley
Stanley was inferred that viruses
awarded the Nobel alive
were not “_____.”
Prize in chemistry.
Characteristics of Viruses
Viruses are _____________.
extremely small
Most can be seen only with an
electron microscope
_________________.
 A viruses is active only when
_______________.
inside a living cell

When removed
from a living cell,
it _______
ceases all
activities but
retains its ability They may be crystallized and stored
to ___________.
infect the cell indefinitely, but even after longs
periods of time, they retain:
their ability to infect a living cell.
Viruses vary widely in terms of size and structure, but
they all have one thing in common:

They enter living cells and use the machinery of the

cell to produce more viruses.
Label the parts of the virus:

1 – Capsid
2 – Base plate
3 – Tail fibers
4 – Sheath
5 – Collar
6 – DNA or RNA
Viruses are non-cellular.
1. They are not made of cells
and have no cell parts.

2. Viruses consist of two

parts:
DNA or RNA surrounded by
a protein coat.

3. Capsid: The protein coat

that surrounds the
DNA or RNA .
 The capsid is made of
The _______
proteins that enable the
Viral virus to enter a host cell.
Capsid
The capsid has a particular ______ that
shape
must match _________ on the surface of a
receptors
________. host cell

When the virus attaches to

these receptors, the cell is
“tricked” into:
letting the virus inside.
Viruses can reproduce, but
only _______________.
inside a living cell
They
reproduce
inside a cell
by getting the
cell to
produce viral
parts instead
of cell parts.
 proteins on
Since viruses must bind precisely to _______
cell surface they are highly specific to the
the __________,
cells they infect.
Papaya Ringspot Virus
Plant viruses can only
infect plant cells.
Animal viruses can only infect animal cells.

Polio Virus
Viruses of eukaryotes are usually tissue specific.
Example: Human cold viruses infect only the cells
lining the upper respiratory system, ignoring all other
tissues.
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect only certain
types of bacteria.
Viruses are not affected by any
antibiotic
known _________.

Anything that
will kill the
virus will also
kill the host.
 Viruses:
Are They Living or Nonliving?
Living Characteristics of Viruses:
1. They can reproduce but only
inside a living cell.
2. They can mutate or change.
3. They have DNA or RNA.
Their genome may consist of
only four genes, or up to a
hundred genes.
 Viruses:
Are They Living or Nonliving?
Non-living Characteristics of Viruses:
1. They are non-cellular.
2. They have no metabolism. They
have no food or energy
requirements.
3. They can be crystallized and
dehydrated and stored
indefinitely. They come to "life"
only when injected inside a living
cell.
 Viral Reproduction :
How Do They Do It?
1. Since viruses have no
enzymes and no cell parts,
they force the host cell to:
start making viral parts
___________________.
2. A viral infection begins
when:
the genetic material (DNA
or RNA) of a virus makes
its way into a host cell.
hijacks the cell, reprogramming
3. Once inside, the virus _______
the cell.
 4. The viral genome takes over the
_______
host cell and makes the host cell
start producing viral
________.
parts

5. The host cell will begin to make copies of the ________

viral DNA and
protein capsids
producing the _____________.

6. The host cell assembles the parts into

viruses.
7. The reproductive cycle ends with:
the exit of hundreds or thousands of
viruses from the infected host cell.
8. This often ________
destroys the host cell.
Each of these viral progeny has the
capacity to infect neighboring cells,
thereby spreading the infection.
 The Two Reproductive Possibilities:
1. Once a virus is inside a host cell, two
different processes may occur.
2. Some viruses replicate themselves
immediately, killing the host cell.

3. Other viruses replicate themselves in a way

that does not destroy the host cell.

4. These two processes are

called:
a) The lytic cycle
b) The lysogenic cycle
The Lytic
Cycle
In a lytic infection, a virus:
enters a cell, makes copies of itself, and
causes the cell to burst.
Bacteriophage T4 is an
example of a bacteriophage
that causes a lytic infection.
 Attachment. Tail fibers A phage that reproduces

The Lytic
are used to attach to only by a lytic cycle is
receptor sites on the
surface of the host cell. called a virulent phage.

Cycle
Entry. Phage DNA is
injected. Empty capsid
Release. The cell remains outside. Host
swells, bursts, and cell DNA is destroyed.
releases 100’s of new
viruses.

Synthesis. The
host cell is directed
to produce viral
genomes and
Assembly. The viral DNA or protein capsids.
RNA is assembled inside the
protein coat.
 The Lysogenic
Cycle
1. In this type of viral reproduction:
the host cell makes copies of the viral genetic
material indefinitely.
2. The virus incorporates its DNA into the DNA of the
host cell. The viral DNA is then ________
replicated along with
the host cell’s own DNA.
3. Lysogenic viruses do not __________________.
kill the cell right away
inactive for some
A lysogenic virus may remain _______
period of time.
 Phage attaches and
injects its DNA. Daughter cell
with prophage Many cell
divisions may
Bacterial occur, producing
chromosome
a large
population of
Bacteriophage bacteria that are
(phage) infected with the
prophage.

The host LYTIC LYSOGENIC

cell bursts, Bacterial cell divides by binary
Certain features fission normally. The viral
releasing the determine whether: genome is copied and passed to
new viruses. Lytic cycle Lysogenic cycle
daughter cells.

is induced Is entered Prophage

Viral DNA is
incorporated into the
bacterial
chromosome, forming
New viruses are produced. a prophage.
 The Lysogenic
Cycle
The viral DNA
Prophage: embedded into the
host cell’s DNA.

The prophage may remain part of the host

__________________
for many generations before becoming active.

Eventually, certain environmental conditions

(chemicals, radiation) may trigger the switchover from
the ________
lysogenic cycle to the ____
lytic cycle.
 Retroviruses
Retroviruses have RNA
____ as their
genetic information rather than _____.
DNA

• These viruses have an enzyme called _________________,

reverse transcriptase
which transcribes their ____
RNA template into ____.
DNA The newly
made DNA then enters the cell’s nucleus and integrates
____________
into the DNA of a chromosome.
• In this way, the retrovirus may remain dormant for some
length of time.
• It will eventually become ______,
active causing the
new viruses and causing
host cell to make ___________
the _____
death of the host cell.
• Retroviruses are responsible for some types of
cancer.
• The AIDS virus is a retrovirus.
Comparison of Viruses and Cells

Cell membrane,
Have DNA or RNA cytoplasm, nucleus,
and a protein capsid cytoplasmic organelles

Reproduce independently,
Only within a host cell either sexually or
asexually
DNA or RNA DNA
None Yes, in multicellular organisms

No Yes

No Yes
Yes Yes
 Viral Diseases
There is little that can be done to
cure a viral infection.

bacteria but not

Antibiotics are effective against _______
viruses
against _______.

A few new drugs have been

developed that interfere
with the reproduction of the
virus, but they only seem to
slow the effect of the virus.
They do not provide a cure.
The battle against viral diseases lies in
the use of vaccines.
Contain a harmless
Vaccines: variation of the
pathogen.
Our immune system launches a
response to the harmless form,
recognize it the
thereby learning to _________
next time that we are ________
exposed to it.
When we are exposed to the
"real" pathogen, our immune
system can respond __________
much faster
learned to
since it has already _______
recognize the pathogen.
 Common Viral
Diseases Colds

Include:
Hepatitis

AIDS

Flu West Nile

Virus Chicken pox
 Viroids
1. They are known for their extreme ________
simplicity and small____.
size
2. They are much smaller than a virus
____.
small, circular molecules of RNA but they
3. They consist of ___________________________,
protein coat They are tiny molecules of
have no __________.
naked circular RNA
_________________.
4. They have only been identified in plants, but they are
suspected of causing some diseases in animals for which no
pathogen has ever been isolated.
5. The important lesson we have learned from viroids is that:
a molecule can be an infectious agent and cause disease.
 Prions
1. These are disease-causing particles that:
do not contain DNA or RNA.
protein
2. They are tiny bits of ______.
3. Prions cause degenerative brain diseases such as
Mad Cow Disease
_______________.
4. How can a protein, which cannot replicate itself, be a
pathogen?
The leading hypothesis is that a prion is a
misfolded form of a protein normally present in brain cells.
______________________
When a prion enters a cell that contains the normal form of the
protein, the prion converts the normal protein to the prion
version.
 Created by Amy Brown
Copyright © Amy Brown Science
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