TRANSCRIBED GEN CAMATO

INTRODUCTION TO VIROLOGY

Viruses

VIRAL STRUCTURE

M YCOLOGY AND VIROLOGY | LECTURE

Non-cellular form of life

Smallest infectious agents (ranging from
About 20 nm to about 300 nm in diameter)

HELICAL

ICOSAHEDRAL

Viral sizes compared to RBC and Ecoli

! Helical

Nucleic acid (RNA) is attached to helix

It is also pleomorphic; it can have different shapes

In terms of flexibility, one with a helical symmetry Is

more flexible while one with an icosahedral
symmetry is fixed and more rigid

Most of RNA with helical symmetry are

enveloped

Contain only one kind of nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) as their genome.
Obligate intracellular parasites.
Exist as inert particles (virions) outside the cell

Since they have no nuclei (viruses are biologically inert when

outside the host cell) they are usually called the boundary
between biotic and abiotic elements.

Viruses only become a living thing once inside a host cell;

viruses are entirely dependent on the host cell for all
metabolical functions
Virus particles (virions) themselves do not 'grow' or undergo division.
Viruses lack the genetic information which encodes apparatus
necessary for the generation of metabolic energy or for protein
synthesis (ribosomes)

! Icosahedral

With hollow space inside

Contains 20 equilateral triangles/facets

! Envelope

It is an additional outer membrane

Contains proteins determined by the viral nucleic acid and materials

derived from normal host cell components

Spike carbohydrate-protein complexes that may project from the

surface of the envelope

VIRAL MORPHOLOGY
! Virion

Is a complete, fully developed, infectious viral particle

Nucleic acid + protein coat

Capsid
Covering

Virus particle

Envelope
(not found in all
viruses)
Nucleic acid
molecule

Central core

(DNA or RNA)
Various proteins
(enzymes)

Schematic diagram illustrating the components of the complete virus

particle (the virion). A: Enveloped virus with icosahedral symmetry.
B: Virus with helical symmetry

VIRAL STRUCTURE
! Nucleic Acid

Virus can have either DNA or RNA but never both

Can be single-stranded or double-stranded

r
Double-stranded DNA
r
Single-stranded DNA
r
Double-stranded RNA
r
Single-stranded RNA

Functions of Capsid/Envelope

Protect the nucleic acid from the effects of various enzymes and
chemicals outside the host cell

Help introduce the viral DNA or RNA into a suitable host cell

Stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies

Non-enveloped/Naked virus
I Capsid + Nucleic acid

! Capsid

This is the protective protein shell surrounding the viral genome

Capsids are typically formed from a small number of protein subunits

(capsomers), which are assembled into repeating, symmetrical
structures

Capsid symmetry
r One of the basis of classification. It could be Helical or
Icosahedral

Enveloped virus
I Envelope + capsid + Nucleic acid

TRANSCRIBED GEN CAMATO

INTRODUCTION TO VIROLOGY

M YCOLOGY AND VIROLOGY | LECTURE

NOTE:
Which is more susceptible to the adverse effects of the environment?
An enveloped or naked virus?
[
An Enveloped Virus *ANSWER
[
An envelope is made up of a double lipid layer which is more easily
destroyed unlike the capsid which is made up of proteins
[

! RNA viruses

Broadly subdivided as follows:

Viruses with positive strand (+) RNA genomes:

[
Genomes of the same polarity as mRNA and
thus can be immediately translated by the host
cell

Viruses with negative strand (-) RNA genomes:

[
Genomes of opposite polarity to mRNA and must
be converted positive-sense RNA by an RNA
polymerase before translation

Ambisense genomes:
[
Contain both (+) and (-) strand RNAs

A Naked virus such as that found in the GIT can withstand the
adverse effects of the environment. It can also thrive longer in the
GIT because the capsid with protein components is not easily
destroyed

Naked virus/Non-enveloped virus

Easily spread (fomites, hand-hand,
dust, small droplets)
Can dry out and still retain
infectivity
Survives adheres conditions of the
GIT
Resistant to detergents

Enveloped virus
Requires a wet environment for
survival
Cant survive the GIT
It initiates a cell-mediated immune
response

HOW VIRUS CLASSIFIED & NAMES

! Earlier virus classification was based on the virus pathogenic
property, organ tropism and transmission characteristics.
! The main criteria of virus classification are the following:
1. The type of nucleic acid which is found in the virion (RNA or
DNA)
2. The symmetry and shape of the capsid
3. The presence or absence of an envelope
4. The size of the virus particle
TAXONOMY

ORDER

virales
Mononegavirales

FAMILIES
viridae
Rhabdoviridae
Subfamilies suffix virinae

GENUS

SPECIES

Most are

Single-stranded

Enveloped

Show helical capsid symmetry

Replicate in the cytoplasm

Exceptions:
1)
Reoviridae are double-stranded.
2)
3 are nonenveloped:
[
Picorna
[
Calici
[
Reoviridae.
3)
5 have icosahedral symmetry:
[
Reo
[
Picorn
[
Toga
[
Flavi
[
Calici

Suffix lyssavirus
Has no clear cut pattern
May be according to place of discovery, organ which it
affects, commonality or its discoverer

CLASSIFICATION
! DNA viruses

Almost all DNA viruses which infect animals contain double-stranded

DNA. Exception is Parvoviridae

REMEMBER: HHAPPy

Herpesviridae
Hepadnaviridae
Adenoviridae

Papoviridae
Parvoviridae
Poxviridae

* (Rhabdo has helical symmetry but shaped like a bullet)

4)

2 undergo replication in the nucleus:

[
Retro
[
Orthomyxo

TRANSCRIBED GEN CAMATO

INTRODUCTION TO VIROLOGY

M YCOLOGY AND VIROLOGY | LECTURE

VIRAL REPLICATION

Adsorp>on
Uncoa>ng
Transcrip>on, Transla>on,
Replica>on
Assembly and Release

! ADSORPTION

! ASSEMBLY AND RELEASE

The structural proteins and genome (RNA or DNA) assemble into the
intact helical or icosahedral virion.

The virion is then released.

Naked Virions:

The cell may lyse and release the virions, or the virions
may be released by reverse phagocytosis (exocytosis)

Enveloped Virions:

The newly formed naked virion acquires its new clothing

by budding through the Golgi apparatus, nuclear
membrane, or cytoplasmic membrane, tearing off a piece
of host cell lipid bilayer as it exits

! UNCOATING

The nucleic acid is released from the capsid into the nucleus or
cytoplasm.
! TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION

HOST CELL OUTCOME

Death

With the viral infection, the host cells own function shuts
down as the cell is commandeered for virion replication.
This can result in cell death.

Transformation

Infection can activate or introduce oncogenes. This

results in uncontrolled and uninhibited cell growth.

Latent infection

The virus can survive in a sleeping state, surviving but not

producing clinically overt infection. Various factors can
result in viral reactivation.

Chronic slow infection

Some viruses will cause disease only after many years,

often decades, of indolent infection.

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of
understanding.
- Proverbs 17:27
3