Viruses

1. Viruses • I can reproduce inside a living cell, yet I am dormant (inactive) outside a cell • Q: Am I living or non-living? • Q: Am I a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell? • What do you think?

2. What is a Virus? • Viruses are considered to be non-living organisms – however they do affect the lives of other organisms • Why non-living? • Because they rely on other organisms for survival and reproduction • Latin word for virus is poison!

3. Virus Characteristics • They are not cellular (no cytoplasm, no membrane-bound organelles, no cell membranes!) • So – what is their structure? • An inner core – which contains strands of either DNA or RNA (but not both) • An outer protective protein coat – called the capsid, which surrounds the genetic material • The capsid gives the virus its shape • The shape and size of the capsid is different for each virus and is one way viruses can be classified • An outer lipid envelope made from the host cell’s cell membrane (not all may have this).

4. Virus Characteristics • Viruses are simpler than any unicellular prokaryote • Smaller in size than bacteria (5-400 nm) • Only reproduce by infecting living cells

5. Viruses in History • Viruses have been written about since the 10th century. • Many Muslim doctors of the Middle Ages described viral diseases and how to best keep them from spreading.

6. Viruses in History • The first virus identified was in tobacco plants, the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). • The first human virus found was that which caused Yellow Fever. • In 1915 first time scientists realized that bacteria could become infected by a virus! • By 1940, scientists began to grow and study viruses to better understand them.

7. Classifying Viruses • Viruses are classified based on the shape and size of their capsid Bacteriophages = a category of viruses that infect and destroy bacterial cells Head and tail viruses (e.g. T4 bacteriophage) Spherical viruses (e.g. HIV) Cylindrical viruses (e.g. tobacco mosaic) Polyhedral viruses (look like small crystals) (e.g. polio)

8. Reproduction in Viruses • Viruses do not reproduce by cell division (makes sense since they are not cellular) • So - what do they do? • Viruses undergo replication within a host cell (i.e. to make multiple copies of themselves) • Viruses can do this in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells; depends on virus type • Generally a virus will have a host range – the limited number of host species, tissues, or cells that a virus or other parasite can infect

9. How a virus invades a cell • Flu attack

10. Replication cycles • Lytic Cycle – the replication process in viruses in which the virus’s genetic material uses the copying machinery of the host cell to make new viruses.

11. Lytic Cycle Stages • Stage 1: Attachment – phage attaches to host cell wall at specific receptor sites • Stage 2: Entry – the virus injects its genetic material (RNA or DNA) into the host cell • Relases enzyme to break down cell wall • Some animal viruses enter the host cell by phagocytosis • Some plant viruses are injected into cells by insects

12. Lytic Cycle Stages • Stage 3: Replication – the host cell makes more viral DNA or RNA and proteins (in nucleus or cytoplasm) • Stage 4: Assembly – new viral particles are assembles • Stage 5: Lysis and Release – the host cell breaks open (lysis) and releases new viral particles • considered to be a virulent phage

13. Replication Cycles • Lysogenic Cycle or Provirus– the replication process in viruses, in which the viral DNA enters the host cell’s and becomes intergrated into the hosts DNA • Does not kill the host cell right away – therefore called temperate phage • Dormant state is calledlysogeny

14. Lysogenic Cycle cont. • Virus DNA re-enters lytic cycle when something triggers it into taking over the host’s DNA (control center) • Now the virus becomes virulent again

15. Viruses and Disease • Viruses cause some of the most common illnesses such as the common cold, the flu, cold sores, etc… • Viruses also cause some of the deadliest diseases known to man, Ebola, Avian Flu, AIDS, etc… • The virulence of a virus is its ability to cause disease.

16. Viruses and Disease • Antibiotics are not effective against viruses (only bacterial infections) • Vaccines are used to prevent viral diseases from spreading (e.g. polio) • There are now some antiviral drugs – which aim to inhibit viral development.

17. DNA Viruses • These usually infect a host through a chance encounter with the virus. • These include some of the more well known viruses such as the herpes virus and any of the pox viruses such as smallpox or chicken pox.

18. RNA Viruses • Use RNA as their genetic material or use an RNA intermediate to replicate. • These include the Rubella virus which causes the German Measles.

19. Reverse transcripting viruses • These convert RNA into DNA and incorporate it into a host cell. • Often called retroviruses because they work backwards. • HIVis the most well known of these types of viruses.

20. The Origin of the Virus • The origin of the modern virus is unclear. No fossil history exists (that we know of!) • Three hypotheses exist (text pg. 338)

21. Applications of Viruses • Viruses have been used to study the basic mechanisms of molecular biology such as DNA replication, protein synthesis, etc… • Viruses have also been used by geneticists to genetically modify organisms. • Virotherapyuses viruses to treat bacterial diseases and some forms of cancer. • Viruses are also being used as biological insecticides.

22. Applications of Viruses • Viruses are currently being used in nanotechnology acting as tools to stop or start sequences needed in host cells. • Viruses have also been explored as a viable biological weapon. Scary thought!

23. End on a cuddlier, happier note…