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Characterizing
and Classifying
Viruses, Viroids,
and Prions
Viruses
Cause many infections of
humans, animals, plants, and
bacteria
Cannot carry out any
metabolic pathway
Neither grow nor respond to
the environment
Cannot reproduce
independently
Obligate intracellular parasites
Characteristics of
Viruses
Cause most diseases
that plague
industrialized world
Virus are miniscule,
acellular, infectious
agents having one or
several pieces of DNA or
RNA
No cytoplasmic
membrane, cytosol, or
organelles (one
Characteristics of
Viruses
Extracellular
state
Called virion
Protein coat (capsid)
surrounding nucleic acid
Nucleic acid and capsid
together are called the
nucleocapsid
Some have phospholipid
envelope
Outermost layer provides
protection and recognition
sites for host cells
Intracellular state
Structure of Viruses
Genetic Material of
Viruses
Show more variety in
Hosts of Viruses
Most only infect particular kinds
of hosts cells
Due to affinity of viral surface
proteins or glycoproteins (antireceptors) for complementary
proteins or glycoproteins on
host cell surface (receptors)
Generalists infect many kinds
of cells in many different hosts
Viral Hosts
Viral Hosts
T-even Bacteriophage
Viral
Hosts
HIV
Viral
Hosts
Sizes of
Viruses
Capsid
Morphology
Capsids protein coats that
provide protection for viral
nucleic acid and means of
attachment to hosts cells
Capsid composed of
proteinaceous subunits called
capsomeres
Some capsids composed of
single type of capsomere; others
are composed of multiple types
Viral Shapes
Helical
Figure 13.5a
Viral Shapes
Polyhedral
Figure 13.5b
Viral Shapes
Complex
Figure 13.5c
Viral Shapes
Complex
Bullet shaped
Figure 13.5d
Complex
Viruses
Bacteriophage T4
Figure 13.6a
The Viral
Envelope
Coronavirus
Figure 13.7a
The Viral
Envelope
Togavirus
Figure 13.7b
The Viral
Envelope
DNA Viruses
RNA Viruses
Viral Replication
Dependent on hosts
organelles and enzymes to
produce new virions
Replication cycle usually
results in death and lysis of
host cell lytic replication
Stages of lytic replication cycle
Attachment
Entry
Synthesis
Assembly
Release
Lytic
Replication
of
Bacteriopha
ges
Figure 13.8
Lytic Phage
Replication Cycle
Figure 13.9
Lysogeny
Lambda
Figure 13.11
Replication of
Animal Viruses
Same basic replication
pathway as
bacteriophages
Differences result from
Presence of envelope
around some viruses
Eukaryotic nature of
animal cells
Lack of cell wall in
Attachment of
Animal Viruses
Chemical attraction
Animal viruses do not
have tails or tail fibers
Have glycoprotein spikes
or other attachment
molecules that mediate
attachment
Figure 13.12ab
Synthesis of
Animal Viruses
Each type of animal virus
requires a different strategy
depending on its nucleic
acid
Must consider:
How mRNA is synthesized?
What serves as a template
for nucleic acid
replication?
Table 13.3
Latency of Animal
Viruses
When animal viruses remain
Table 13.4
Oncog
ene
Theory
Figure 13.15
Factors Involved in
Activation of
Oncogenes
Ultraviolet light
Radiation
Carcinogens
Viruses
Culturing Viruses in
Bacteria
Figure 13.16
Viruses
in
Embryon
ated
Chicken
Eggs
Figure 13.17
Figure 13.18
Characteristics of
Viroids
Extremely small (a few hundred
bases), circular pieces of RNA
that are infectious and
pathogenic in plants
Similar to RNA viruses, but lack
capsid
May appear linear due to
hydrogen bonding and
significant secondary structure
Structure of a
Viroid:
Viroids
Effect of PSTVs
Prions
Proposed by Stanley
Prusiner in 1982
Prions have the following
characteristics:
resistant to inactivation by
temperatures in excess of
90 degrees C
Resistant to radiation that
would damage DNA
Not destroyed by DNAses
or RNAses
Sensitive to protein
denaturing agents such as
phenol and urea
Stanley Prusiner
American Neurologist 1942
Nobel Prize 1997
http://
www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/25/stanley-prusiner-neurologist-nobel-doesnt-wipe-scepticism-away#i
mg-1
Characteristics of
Prions
Proteinaceous infectious agents
Composed of single protein PrP
All mammals contain a gene
that codes for the primary
sequence of amino acids in PrP
Two stable tertiary structures of
PrP
Normal functional structure with helices called cellular PrP
Disease-causing form with sheets called prion PrP
Figure 13.21
Characteristics of
Prions
Normally, nearby proteins and
Prions:
(Spongiform
All involve fatal
Encephalopathies)
neurological
degeneration, deposition
of fibrils in brain, and loss
of brain matter
Large vacuoles form in
brain; characteristic
spongy appearance
Scrapie in sheep
Mad cow disease (BSE)
Scrapie in Sheep
Figure 13.22