Morales, Nicole S.

Me1-0

Mechanism or Life cycle of :

RNA viruses
 RNA viruses are single-stranded
  RNA viruses replicate without the use of their own RNA polymerases or other replicating enzymes
  they steal the necessary enzymes from their hosts in order to replicate their RNA and thus the entire
structure of the virus
 Examples of RNA viruses include SARS, the flue, hepatitis C, polio, and West Nile fever.

DNA viruses
 The nucleic acid is usually double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) but may also be single-stranded DNA (ssDNA).
 here is considerable diversity among DNA virus genomes and the relative stability of DNA allows for
genomes much larger than possible for RNA viruses.
 Early transcription occurs before DNA synthesis to provide the protein products needed for DNA
replication. These are generally called “early genes.”
 After DNA replication the gene expression profile changes to expression of structural proteins needed to
package DNA and form virions.  These are generally called “late genes.”
 Herpesviruses encode a number of “late proteins” that are packaged into virions to support transcription
upon infection of a new cell
HIV (Human Immunodefiency Virus)
Simplified Life Cycle of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus

 HIV first attaches to and penetrates its target cell.

 HIV releases RNA, the genetic code of the virus, into the cell. For the virus to replicate, its RNA must be
converted to DNA. The RNA is converted by an enzyme called reverse transcriptase (produced by HIV).
HIV mutates easily at this point because reverse transcriptase is prone to errors during the conversion of
viral RNA to DNA.
 The viral DNA enters the cell’s nucleus.
 With the help of an enzyme called integrase (also produced by HIV), the viral DNA becomes integrated
with the cell’s DNA.
 The DNA of the infected cell now produces viral RNA as well as proteins that are needed to assemble a
new HIV.
 A new virus is assembled from RNA and short pieces of protein.
 The virus pushes (buds) through the membrane of the cell, wrapping itself in a fragment of the cell
membrane and pinching off from the infected cell.
 To be able to infect other cells, the budded virus must mature. It becomes mature when another HIV
enzyme (HIV protease) cuts structural proteins in the virus, causing them to rearrange.

Polio Virus

 Polio is a type of enterovirus from the family Picornaviridae.

 It is also known as poliovirus and poliomyeltis .
 Polio contains RNA and has three serotypes (P1, P2 and P3).
 Polio is stable in high pH (eg. Gastric acid) but is destroyed by heat, formaldehyde, chlorine, and
ultraviolet light (11).
 Humans are the only known reservoir for polio (11).
Influenza Virus

 commonly known as the flu, , is an infectious disease caused by an influenza virus

 The most common symptoms include: high fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle
pains, headache, coughing, and feeling tired.
 When influenza virus is introduced into the respiratory tract, by aerosol or by contact with saliva or other
respiratory secretions from an infected individual, it attaches to and replicates in epithelial cells. 
 The virus replicates in cells of both the upper and lower respiratory tract.
 Types of virus
 Influenzavirus A- Wild aquatic birds are the natural hosts for a large variety of influenza A.. Wild aquatic
birds are the natural hosts for a large variety of influenza A. The type A viruses are the most virulent
human pathogens among the four influenza types and cause the severest disease.
 Influenzavirus B - exclusively infects humans.
 Influenzavirus C - infects humans, dogs and pigs, sometimes causing both severe illness and local
epidemics.
 Influenzavirus D- infects pigs and cattle.
Adeno virus
 containing a double stranded DNA genome
 They have a broad range of vertebrate hosts; in humans, more than 50 distinct adenoviral serotypes have
been found to cause a wide range of illnesses, from mild respiratory infections in young children (known
as the common cold) to life-threatening multi-organ disease in people with a weakened immune system.