Introduction to Viruses

 “Virus” originates from Latin word “poison”.

 Term was originally used by Pasteur to describe
infectious agent for rabies.
 First virus discovered was tobacco mosaic disease virus
(TMV) in 1890s.
 Distinguished from bacteria by being “filterable
agents” in early 1900s.
 In 1930s: TMV was isolated and purified. Electron
microscope was used to observe viruses.
 By 1950s science of virology was well established.
 Are Viruses Living or Non-living?

• Biologists consider viruses to be non-living because:

– Are not cells
– Do not grow or respond to their surroundings
– Cannot make food, take in food, or produce
wastes
– Viruses do not respond to stimuli.
• They can only multiply if in another living cell
 What are Viruses?
Definition-
• Viruses are noncellular particles
made up of genetic material and
protein that can invade living
cells.
• An infective agent that typically
consists of a nucleic acid molecule
in a protein coat, is too small to be
seen by light microscopy, and is able
to multiply only within the living
cells of a host.
• "the hepatitis B virus"
 Discovery of Viruses

•Beijerinck (1897)
coined the Latin name
“virus” meaning poison

4
 Tobacco Mosaic Virus

•Wendell Stanley (1935)

discovered viruses were
made of nucleic acid and
protein

5
 Smallpox

•Edward Jenner (1796)

developed a smallpox
vaccine using milder
cowpox viruses
Smallpox has been
eradicated in the world
today

6
 How Big is a Virus?

• Viruses are very small – smaller than the

smallest cell.
 Characteristics
• Structure:

• Non living structures

• Non-cellular
• Contain a protein coat called the capsid
• Have a nucleic acid core containing DNA or
RNA (one or the other - not both)
• Capable of reproducing only when inside a
HOST cell 8
 Characteristics CAPSID
• Some viruses are
enclosed in an protective DNA
envelope
• Some viruses may have
spikes to help attach to
the host cell
• Most viruses infect only
SPECIFIC host cells
ENVELOPE SPIKES

9
 HIV VIRUS EBOLA VIRUS

Characteristics
•Outside of host cells,
viruses are inactive
•Viruses cause many
common illnesses/
diseases

•Some viruses may

cause some cancers
like leukemia MEASLES 10
 What do Viruses look like?

• Viruses are unusual and different from other things in

nature.
• Viruses come in a variety of shapes

•Some may be helical shape like the Ebola virus

•Some may be polyhedral shapes like the influenza
virus
•Others have more complex shapes like bacteriophages
Types of Viruses:
Helical Viruses

12
Polyhedral Viruses

13
Complex Viruses

14
 Viral Taxonomy

• Family names end in -viridae

• Genus names end in -virus
• Viral species: A group of viruses sharing
the same genetic information and
ecological niche (host).
• Common names are used for species
• Subspecies are designated by a number
15
Growing Animal Viruses in the Laboratory
 Growing Animal Viruses in the Laboratory
• Some animal viruses can be cultured only in living animals, such
as mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs. Most experiments to study
the immune system’s response to viral infections must also be
performed in virally infected live animals. Animal inoculation
may be used as a diagnostic procedure for identifying and
isolating a virus from a clinical specimen. After the animal is
inoculated with the specimen, the animal is observed for signs
of disease or is killed so that infected tissues can be examined
for the virus.
• In Embryonated Eggs
• If the virus will grow in an embryonated egg, this can be a
fairly convenient and inexpensive form of host for many
animal viruses. A hole is drilled in the shell of the
embryonated egg, and a viral suspension or suspected virus-
containing tissue is injected into the fluid of the egg.
 In Cell Cultures
Cell cultures have replaced embryonated eggs as the preferred type of growth medium for
many viruses. Cell cultures consist of cells grown in culture media in the laboratory. Because
these cultures are generally rather homogeneous collections of cells and can be propagated
and handled much like bacterial cultures, they are more convenient to work with than
whole animals or embryonated eggs.
 Used for Virus
Identification
• Morophology
– RNA or DNA Virus
– Do or do NOT have an envelope
– Capsid shape
– HOST they infect

21
 Herpes Virus

SIMPLEX I and II

22
Adenovirus

COMMON COLD 23
Papillomavirus – Warts!

24
 HOST SPECIFICITY

• All kingdoms can be infected by viruses

• Viruses are kingdom specific but they may or may

not be species specific

• Spread is specific to the type of virus

 PARASITISM
• Viruses are parasites.
– A parasite is an organism that depends upon
another living organism for its existence in
such a way that it harms that organism.
Bacteriophages

27
 Cylces

• Lysogenic Cycle
– Viral DNA
– May stay inactive in host for long periods of
time
– Long lasting
– Example chickenpox
• Lytic Cylce
– Short and can be over come
– Example flu virus
28
 Vaccine

• Is a weaken form of the virus

– To expose your immune system to the virus which
will allow your body to better fight off the virus when
exposed to the full blow virus.
 Vector Control
• This is controlling the vectors that are carrying
the virus.
• Examples:
– We stay home when sick, cover our mouth when
we cough etc.
– We control the mosquito population in order to
control the West Nile virus
 Other Drug Treatments

•Specific to certain
viruses.

•They don’t cure the

virus but they can slow
down and inhibit the
multiplication of the
virus. copyright cmassengale 31
 Reducing the Risk
They can’t be treated but they can be prevented!
• Cover mouth/nose when you sneeze of cough
• Wash hands frequently
• Avoid contact with the body fluids
Characteristics of all viruses
– Acellular infectious agents
– Obligate intracellular parasites
– Possess either DNA or RNA, never both
– Replication is directed by viral nucleic acid within a cell
– Do not divide by binary fission or mitosis
– Lack genes and enzymes necessary for energy production
– Depend on host cell ribosomes, enzymes, and nutrients
for protein production
– Smaller than most cells
Viruses are classified by the following
characteristics:
– Type of genetic material
– Capsid shape
– Number of capsomeres
– Size of capsid
– Presence or absence of envelope
– Host infected
– Type of disease produced
– Target cell
– Immunological properties
Morphology of viruses
 Morphology
• Helical: Ribbon-like protein forms a spiral around the
nucleic acid. May be rigid or flexible.
• First virus studied by electron microscope was tobacco
mosaic virus.
• Animal viruses with capsid displaying helical
symmetry include measles, mumps,ebola virus,
influenza. In these viruses the nucleocapsid is a
flexible structure packed within a fringed lipoprotein
envelope.
• The fringes are actually spiked projetions made of
glycoprotein.
 Icosahedral/ Polyhedral

Polyhedral: Many-sides. Most common shape is icosahedron, with

20 triangular faces and 12 corners.
Poliovirus
Herpesvirus
Influenza virus.
 Complex viruses:
Unusual shapes
Bacteriophages have tail fibers, sheath, and a plate attached to
capsid.
Poxviruses and molluscum cantagiosum have several coats
around the nucleic acid and consist of many different proteins
and lipoproteins.
e.g Bacteriophage.
• Nuleic acid:
• Viral genome consist of nucleic acid
• Animal and plant viruses have either DNA or RNA
• The genome of higher organisms consist of double-
stranded DNA but the genome of viruses have consist
of DNA or RNA that is either double stranded or
single stranded.
• The proportion of nucleic acid in a viroin varies from
1 percent for the influenza virus to about 50 percent
for certain phages
• The contents of genetic information per viroin varies
from about 3 to 300 kilobases per strand of nucleic
acid thus 1 kilobases is considered the size of an
average gene
• Small viruses (parvoviruses and picornaviruses) contain 3 or 4
genes
• Large viruses contain (herpesvirus and poxviruses) contain
several hundered genes.
• Viroins contain only a single copy of nucleic acid.,they are
haploid
• Retroviruses are diploid viruses because they contain two
identical single stranded RNA genomes.
• The structur of nucleic acid in viroins may be circular or linear.
The DNA in most animal viruses is linear molecule of either
dsDNA or ssDNA.
• In some animal viruses like the papoviruses, the DNA occurs
as supercoiled circular dsDNA
• Some plant viruses appear to have a genome of
circular dsDNA. But the RNA in animal viruses
exist only as linear double stranded or single
stranded molecules.
• Segmental RNA genome:Unlike the DNA genome,
the RNA genome within a virion may exist as a
segmental genome. Thus retrovirus contain 10
different segments of dsRNA and influenza virus
has 8 separate segments of ssRNA.
• Since the replication of nucleic acid requires one
nucleic acid strand be used as a template for the
synthesis of the new nucleic acid strand.
 Types of viral genetic material:

Genetic material may be single stranded or double stranded:

– Single stranded DNA (ssDNA):
• Parvoviruses
– Double stranded DNA (dsDNA):
• Herpesviruses
• Adenoviruses
• Poxviruses
• Hepadnaviruses* (Partially double stranded)
– Single stranded RNA (ssRNA): May be plus (+) or minus (-) sense:
• Picornaviruses (+)
• Retroviruses (+)
• Rhabdoviruses (-)
– Double stranded RNA (dsRNA):
• Reoviruses
 Components of mature viruses (virions):

Capsid: Protein coat made up of many protein subunits

(capsomeres). Capsomere proteins may be identical or
different.
Genetic Material: Either RNA or DNA, not both

Nucleocapsid = Capsid + Genetic Material

Additionally some viruses have an:

Envelope: Consists of proteins, glycoproteins, and host lipids.
Derived from host membranes.
Naked viruses lack envelopes.
 Other chemical components
Proteins:
• Capsid is made up of protein. Virions also
contain internal proteins some bound to
nucleic acid. In papoviruses these proteins are
regular cellular histone; in adenoviruses they
are histonelike but are specified by the viruses
• The most common viral enzyme is RNA
polymerase
Lipid:-
• Lipids are also found in viruses. They includes
phospholipids, glycolipids, neutral fats, fatty
acids, fatty aldehydes and cholestrol.
• Phospholipids is found in the viral envelope.
Carbhydrate:-
• all viruses contain carbohydrates since the
nucleic acid itself contain ribose or
deoxyribose. Some enveloped animal viruses
such as influenza virusa and myxoviruses have
spikes made up of glycoprotein on envelope.