Classification and Nomenclature of Viruses Flashcards
how do we classify viruses? (5)
basis of disease
basis of host organism
basis of virus particle morphology
basis of viral nucleic acid
basis of taxonomy
simple way to classify viruses, but very anthropomorphic because they affect humans or our domestic livestock or crops
basis of disease
why classifying based on disease is not suitable?
most viruses either do not cause disease or cause a disease that we do not
recognize because of a lack of understanding of the host.
way of classifying that emphasizes the parasitic nature of the virus–host interaction
basis of host organism
classifying viruses that mplies a fixed, unchanging link between the virus and host in question.
basis of host organism
issue of classfying viruses based on host organism
others may infect a small range of hosts, such as poliovirus which can infect
various primates rather than fixed.
way of classifying viruses whether or not the virus particle has a lipid
envelope - enveloped and non- enveloped
viruses
virus particle morphology
three morphological categories of enveloped viruses
isometric
filamentous
complex
Shape: These viruses have a roughly spherical shape.
Structure: Their protein coat (capsid) is composed of identical subunits arranged in a symmetrical, geometric pattern. Often, this pattern is icosahedral, meaning it has 20 triangular faces.
isometric nonenveloped viruses
Shape: These viruses are elongated and thread-like.
Structure: The capsid is a helical structure that winds around the nucleic acid to form a long, rod-like appearance.
filametous nonenveloped viruses
Shape: These viruses have a more intricate structure that doesn’t fit into the simple isometric or filamentous categories.
Structure: They can have additional components, such as tail fibers or base plates, which are not present in simpler viruses. Despite their complexity, they lack a lipid envelope.
complex nonenveloped viruses
- If enveloped, a further level of classification is
possible by describing the morphology of the
___ found within the membrane.
nucleocapsid
is a viral structure that consists of a capsid and the nucleic acid it contains.
nucleocapsid
d is a protein shell that surrounds the genetic material of a virus.
capsid
issue of clasifying virus based on virus particle morphology
: knowing shape does not allow us to
predict anything about the biology, pathology or
molecular biology of similarly-shaped viruses.
classifying viruses that considers the nature of the virus genome in
terms of the mechanisms used to replicate the
nucleic acid and transcribe mRNA encoding
proteins
basis of nuclei acids
four possible kind of viral nucleic acid
- single- stranded DNA,
- single-stranded RNA,
- double- stranded DNA,
- and double-stranded RNA.
ICTV means
INTERNATIONAL
COMMITTEE ON
TAXONOMY OF
VIRUSES
task is developing, refining, and maintaining a
universal virus taxonomy
ICTV
ICTV is a committee of the Virology Division of the
International Union of Microbiological Studies (IUMS(
ICTV goal is to categorize multitude of known viruses into a single
classification scheme that reflects their ___
relationships, i.e. their individual phylogenies.
evolutionary
process of naming viruses and placing them into a
taxonomic system.
virus classification
why cannot virus be classified with the usual method?
- Due to the pseudo-living nature of viruses,
which is to say they are non-living particles with some
chemical characteristics similar to those of life
result is that a ___exists as a member of a population
where each member has a genome sequence which may
be different to the others but which belongs to a
collection of sequences which will combine to form a
consensus for that virus – type member
virus