Viruses

Is a Virus a Living Organism?

Chapter 1 – Properties of life
– Cellular Respiration
– Reproduction
– Metabolism
– Homeostasis
– Heredity
– Responsiveness
– Growth and development
Viruses are not living organisms
Viruses do not
– Grow
– Have homeostasis
– Metabolize
Viruses do
– Infect cells and use the cell to make more
viruses
– Cause disease in many organisms
 Parts of a Virion (a virus particle)
Nucleic Acid – RNA or DNA
Capsid – protein coat that surrounds the DNA
or RNA in a virus
Lipid Membrane – a membrane around the
capsid in many kinds of viruses; helps the
virus enter cells (“enveloped” viruses;
without the membrane, the virus is “naked”)
– Made of proteins, lipids, and glycoproteins
 RNA or DNA?
Viruses with RNA
– Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
– Influenza viruses
– Rabies
Viruses with DNA
– Warts
– Chickenpox
– mononucleosis
 Virus Shapes
Helical
Rodlike with capsid proteins winding around the
core in a spiral

Tobacco Mosaic Virus

 Virus Shapes
Polyhedral
Has many sides
Most polyhedral capsids have 20 sides
and 12 corners
 Virus Shapes
Polyhedral capsid attached to a helical tail.
 How do viruses replicate?
2 methods of replication:
1. Lytic Cycle – the virus enters the cell,
replicates itself hundreds of times, and
then bursts out of the cell, destroying it.
2. Lysogenic Cycle – the virus DNA
integrates with the host DNA and the
host’s cell helps create more virus
DNA. An environmental change may
cause the virus to enter the Lytic Cycle.
In the lytic cycle, the
virus reproduces
itself using the host
cell's chemical
machinery. The red
spiral lines in the
drawing indicate the
virus's genetic
material. The orange
portion is the outer
shell that protects it.
In the lysogenic
cycle, the virus
reproduces by
first injecting its
genetic material,
indicated by the
red line, into the
host cell's genetic
instructions.
 Viruses Enter Living Cells
Viruses enter bacterial cells by punching a
hole in the cells wall and injecting its DNA
 Viruses Enter Living Cells
Viruses enter plant cells through tiny rips in
the cell wall.
Viruses enter animal cells by endocytosis.
 Mutating viruses
Viruses can mutate when they copy the
genetic material
– Copy something wrong
– Mistake proves useful
– More powerful virus (more infectious)
Viruses don’t mutate often, except…
– Influenza
– HIV
 Viruses are host cell specific.
Most viruses are restricted to certain kinds
of cells (those that infect plants cannot
infect animal cells).

Why?
Scientists think that viruses originated from
escaped genetic material from host cells.
 Viruses can be beneficial…
Bacteriophages – attack & destroy bacteria
Baculovirus – ebola-like virus that attacks
insects
– Could use for pest control in crops
• Cabbage loopers eat
cabbage crops
• Virus can kill pests in days
– (it’s really gross)

… and then there are those that are not so good….

 The spread of West Nile virus (1999 –
2002) – bird, horse, mosquito or human
 Also important…
Any agent (not just viruses) that causes
disease is a pathogen.

When a virus inserts its genetic material into

a host’s DNA, it is called a provirus.

Some viruses replicate very slowly and only

cause damage when the conditions are
“right”. (cold sores)
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV)

Acquired Immuno Deficiency

Syndrome (AIDS)
 Basic Structure
• Viral envelope – lipid bilayer; glycoproteins
protrude from surface
– Glycoproteins enable virus to recognize
surface proteins of special immune cells and
to enter the cell (like a key to the cell’s door)
• 2 strands RNA – only 9 genes; 3 are found
in many viruses (structural proteins)
• Reverse Transcriptase – turns RNA into
DNA (this makes HIV a retrovirus); DNA
instructs cell to make more viruses
 HIV Making Factories
• Virus enters cell through endocytosis

• Virus replicates RNA to DNA with reverse

transcriptase
• DNA enters nucleus & binds with host DNA

•mRNA is created
(carries
instructions for
making new viral
proteins) and
leaves nucleus
•Uses host cell’s
enzymes to make
new viruses

• New virions exit cell through exocytosis to infect

other cells (notice cell isn’t destroyed)
 How Is HIV Spread?
• Sexual contact
• Sharing contaminated needles
• Blood transfusions
• Breast feeding (mother to baby)
• Mother to baby during pregnancy or birth
 Think about it…
• In the US, there is better than a 1/1000 chance of
contracting HIV during unprotected sex
• A person can be contagious for more than 10 years before
any sign of the disease is apparent
• HIV becomes AIDS when the number of immune cells drops
below a predetermined number
• No one dies from HIV or AIDS; people die from secondary
infections (ranging from the common cold to cancer)
• More than 3 million people (size of Chicago) die each year
• There are approx. 14,000 new cases of HIV
worldwide every day
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