Viruses Flashcards
what type of agents are viruses
sub cellular & infectious
what type of parasites are viruses
obligate intracellular parasites
as parasites, what do viruses need to do in order to replicate
need to invade other (host) cells
what size are viruses
20-300nm (small)
what do viruses depend on to independently replicate and grow to synthesise their own nucleic acid or protein
a host cell
what of the host cell do viruses take advantage of
metabolic machinery to create progeny virions
what do a broad variety of viruses contribute to
human disease
which microscope is needed to view viruses
electron
what does the basic structure of a virus consist of
a capsid surrounding a viral genome
what is the genome and capsid together referred to as
nucleocapsid
what is the capsid
a protein shell composed of repeating sub units called capsomeres
what does the capsid enclose
the nucleic acid
what is a preferred capsid morphology
icosohedral symmetry (20 equalateral triangular faces)
what is the glycoprotein which surrounds the virus cell
the capsid in addition to a plasma membrane around
what are the glycoproteins sticking out of
the plasma membrane, so virus has a membrane coat as well as a protein shell
what is the glycoprotein made out of
small protein sub units
what alternative morphologies exist of viruses
- helical nucleocapsid
- other virus families are surrounded by a lipid envelope (derived from the host cell membrane). the envelope is studded with glycosylated transmembrane proteins
what are the lipid envelopes which surround some virus families derived from
the host cell membrane
what can the viral genome be composed of
- DNA double strand
or - RNA single strand or double strand
what can viruses be classified according to
their genome type and replication strategy
baltimore classification
which groups of DNA viruses usually enter the host nucleus before they can replicate
groups: 1, 2 & 6
give example of double stranded DNA viruses
- adenovirus
- herpes virus
give an example of a single stranded DNA virus
parvovirus
give an example of a double stranded DNA reverse transcriptase (RT) virus
hepatitis B