Viruses: intimate parasites

Discovered first by Dimitri

Ivanowsky
virus-poison/slime
Not made of cells-non living
Do not grow (but self assemble)
Do not metabolize
Cannot reproduce w/o a host cell
Have a simple/complex, organized
structure
Viral size and shape
Viruses range from 20 nm to 300 nm
Smallest parvoviruses measures 20 nm
Pox viruses measures 250 nm
Viral shapes:
helical, Icosohedron, and complex
Examples of viruses
HELIX:
Tobacco Mosaic virus, Measles
virus,Rabies virus

Icosohedron(20 triangles&12corners)
- Herpes simplex virus, polio virus,
parvovirus

Complex virus
Bacteriophage, Smallpox virus(brick)
Adenovirus
BACTERIOPHAGE
Small Pox Virus
Structure of Viruses
obligate intracellular parasites
Some components are essential
A genetic material : DNA or RNA &ss/ds
so genes are few
A coat/covering to protect the genetic
material-capsid
Capsid, made of one or more proteins
Capsid + nucleic acid: nucleocapsid
Capsid subdivided in to protein
subunits Capsomeres
No. of Capsomere fixed for each
virus(162-herpesvirus,252-adeno)

Viruses may have
Envelope: piece of organelle or cell membrane
covering capsid
Viral envelope usually contains lipds &
proteins like cell membrane+ viral proteins
Spikes (peplomers) extend from envelope
help in attachment to host cell surface
Accessory enzymes
Reverse transcriptase, RNA RNA enzymes
Complete infectious virus outside cell-virion
Viruses are Host Specific
Viruses have specific host
Have host range
Small pox :humans
Polio: humans and primates
Rabies: human and dogs

Viruses are Host Specific
Within a host range, many viruses only
infect certain cell types or tissues within a
multicellular plant or animal
This limitation is called tissue tropism
(tissue attraction).
e.g.:
HIV virus infects human immune system
TH-cells,
Rabies-nervous system

Cyanobacteria(Blue green algae)
A major group of photosynthetic bacteria
light trapping pigments which are blue,
black, yellow, green or red and perform
photosynthesis.
Unicellular/ Filamentous forms
The oceans contain large amounts of
cyanobacteria (called plankton), that
produce much of Earths oxygen.