Now for something completely different:

The Viruses

I. General Characteristics:
1. Small. Usually much less than 0.5 M.
2. Simple. Acellular. No cytoplasm. No cell membrane.
No organelles. No ribosomes. No metabolism (neither
energy yielding nor biosynthetic).
3. Replication by disassembly, copying parts, and
assembling virus. No division.
4. Obligate parasites. Require living cells (plant, animal,
microbial [prokaryotic {bacteria or archaea} or eukaryotic]).
 The Viruses
II. General virus structure:
- Core: Nucleic acid (DNA or RNA). Single or double
stranded. Linear or circular. Viral genome.
- Capsid. Virus coat. Capsomers.
- Nucleocapsid.
- Viral envelopes. Naked vs enveloped. Protein. Lipid.
- Virion: Infectious viral particle.
- Viral symmetry. Capsomer arrangement.
- Helical (rod shaped).
- Icosahedral or cubical (spherical).
- Complex viruses.
- Viral enzymes:
- Lysozyme. Bacteriophage.
- Neuraminidase. Some animal viruses.
- Transcription or replication enzymes. Some RNA viruses.
Core
Tobacco Mosaic Virus

Helical Symmetry
Icosahedral (or Cubical)
Symmetry

Human Papilloma Virus

 Adenovirus
Icosahedral (or Cubical)
Symmetry
Complex Viral Structure: Bacteriophage T4

Head
Tail Fibers

Tail

Endplate
Influenza virus:
Enveloped virus
III. Quantitation of viral growth.
1. Cultivation of viruses. Requires living cells.
- Bacterial viruses: Cell suspensions (liquid culture). Plate
cultures (agar overlay. lawns).
- Plant and animal viruses: Live plants or lab animals.
Egg embryo. Tissue culture. Monolayers.
2. Detection and enumeration.
- Bacterial viruses. Count plaques. Plaque forming units (pfu).
- Plant and animal viruses: Plaques (pocks). CPE (Cytopathic
effect).
Agar overlay

Host cells

Soft agar
Plaque
Lawn
Plaques, Pocks, CPE.
IV. Viral Replication.
1. Replication cycle:
a. Attachment.
b. Penetration.
c. Synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins.
d. Assembly of virions.
e. Release of virions.
2. Attachment: Receptors. Host specificity. Tissue tropism.
- Plant: Barriers. Waxy epithelium. Role of insects.
Cytoplasmic membrane is target.
- Animal: Barriers. Glycoprotein layers. Cytoplasmic
membrane is target. VAPs (viral attachment proteins).
- Bacterial: Many barriers. (ex: capsule, S-layer).
Cytoplasmic membrane is often not the target.
Barrier may be target. (LPS, Teichoic acid). Pili may
be target.
Bacteriophage replication cycle.
 Bacteriophage
Attachment and Penetration
 Attachment and penetration using the viral envelop.
Uncoating at the cytoplasmic membrane.

Receptors
Attachment and penetration using the viral envelope.
Uncoating after endocytosis.

What about naked viruses?

3. Penetration.
- Animal and plant viruses:
- Uncoat at cytoplasmic membrane. Release core.
- Endocytosis. Uncoating in the cytoplasm or in the nucleus.
- Bacterial: Drill hole in wall. Lysozyme. Hitch ride to
membrane with pili.
4. Host defense:
- Barriers to attachment.
- Barriers to replication: Restriction and modification. (Restriction
endonucleases. DNA methylases). Microbial.
- Innate (interferon, NK cells) and induced (T-cell response) immunity.
Animals.
- Walling off. Plants.
5. One step growth curve. Compare with the microbial cell cycle.
- Latent period.
- Eclipse phase.
- Nucleic acid and protein synthesis.
- Virus assembly and release.
Interferon. Anti-viral only. dsRNA forming viruses. Role of TLR3.
- Release of
- IFN- , Epithelium, leucocytes.
- IFN- , Fibroblasts.
- IFN- . T-cells, NK cells.
- IFN- , induce antiviral proteins in neighborhood cells.
Stimulates NK cells.
- IFN- stimulates phagocytosis by macrophages.
Minimally antiviral.
NK cells. Active against virus-infected cells and tumor cells. Recognition of
abnormal cell surfaces. Changes in MHCI. Also pattern recognition. Virus
components.
- Mode of action:
- Perforin. Granzyme.
- Induction of apoptosis.
- Stimulated by cytokines (Ex: INF- ). Produce cytokines (INF- ).
One-step Growth Curve.
Latent period: Intracellular (but no extracellular) virions and virus
particles may be detected.

Eclipse phase: No intracellular or extracellular virions or virus

particles.

Early proteins: Enzymes for replication of viral genome.

Middle proteins: Capsid proteins.
Late proteins: Usually associated with host cell lysis.
VI. Viral Classification. The Baltimore system.
1. Based on
- Chromosome (DNA or RNA).
- Chromosome replication.
- Mechanism of mRNA production.
2. Seven groups.
I. dsDNA.
II. ssDNA.
III. dsRNA.
IV. ssRNA (+).
V. ssRNA (-).
VI. ssRNA (+) (dsDNA intermediate).
VII. dsDNA (RNA intermediate).
mRNA formation by different viral types.