MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

Acellular Microbes

Viruses
Viruses

• Described as very small and are observed using electron

microscopes
• Viruses are NOT alive. To replicate (multiply), viruses must invade
live host cells
• Virions are complete virus particles, very small and simple in
structure
• Most viruses range in size from 10 to 300 nm (nanometer) in
diameter
• The smallest virus is about the size of hemoglobin molecule of RBC
History of the study of viruses

• Scientists were unable to see viruses until electron microscopes

were invented in the 1930s
• The first photographs of viruses were obtained in 1940
• A negative staining procedure developed in 1959, revolutionized
the study of viruses, making it possible to observe unstained
viruses against an electron dense, dark background
• Viruses infect humans, animals , plants, fungi, protozoa, algae and
bacterial cells (table 4-1)
• Many human diseases are caused by viruses
Five specific properties of viruses

1. Viruses possess either DNA or RNA unlike living cells, which

possess both
2. Viruses are unable to replicate on their own ;their replication is
directed by the viral nucleic acid once it has been introduced
into a host cell,
3. Viruses do not divide by binary fission, mitosis or meiosis
4. Viruses lack genes and enzymes necessary for energy production
5. Viruses depend on the host’s ribosomes, enzymes and
metabolites (“building blocks”) of the host cells
• A typical virion consists of a genome (genetic constitution) of either DNA
or RNA surrounded by a capsid (protein coat) which is composed of many
small protein units called capsomeres/capsomers
• Nucleic acid together with the capsid is referred to as nucleocapsid
• Enveloped viruses have an outer envelope composed of lipids and
polysaccharides
• Bacterial viruses may have tail, sheath and tail fibers
• There are no ribosomes for protein synthesis or sites for energy
production hence viruses must invade and take over a functioning cell to
produce new virions
Classification of viruses according to
characteristics:

• Type of genetic material (either DNA or RNA)

• Shape of capsid
• Number of capsomeres
• size of capsid
• presence or absence of an envelope
• Type of host that it infects
• Type of disease it produces
• Target cell
• Immunologic or antigenic properties
• Genome of most viruses is either double-stranded DNA or single-stranded
RNA (few have single-stranded DNA or double-stranded RNA)
• Viral genomes usually circular molecules (some are linear, having two
ends)
• Capsids of viruses may be polyhedral (many sided), helical (coiled tubes),
bullet shaped, spherical or a complex combination of these shapes
• Polyhedral capsids have 20 sides or facets (icosahedrons); each facet
consists of several capsomeres thus the size of the virus is determined by
the size of each facet and the number of capsomeres in each.
• Frequently, the envelope around the capsid makes the virus
appear spherical or irregular in shape in electron micrographs
• The envelope is acquired by certain animal viruses as they escape
from the nucleus or cytoplasm of the host cells by budding (figs 4-
4 and 4-5) in other words the envelope is derived from either the
host’s cell’s nuclear membrane or cell membrane
• Apparently, viruses are then able to alter or change these
membranes by adding protein fibers, spikes and knobs that enable
the virus to recognize the next host cell to be invaded
Theories of the origin of viruses

• The “coevolution theory”: viruses coevolved with bacteria and

archaea
• The “retrograde evolution theory”:viruses evolved from free-living
prokaryotes that invaded other living organisms and gradually lost
functions which were provided by the host cell.
• The “escaped gene theory” : viruses are pieces of host cell RNA or
DNA that have escaped from living cells, and are no longer under
cellular control. This theory is the most widely accepted
explanation of the origin of viruses
• Because viruses are not composed of cells, they are referred to as
ACELLULAR MICROBES OR INFECTIOUS PARTICLES.
• VIRUSES ARE NOT CONSIDERED TO BE LIVING ORGANISM

• MOST SCIENTISTS AGREE THAT VIRUSES LACK MOST OF THE BASIC

FEATURES OF CELLS THUS THEY CONSIDER VIRUSES TO BE
NONLIVING ENTITIES
Bacteriophages

• Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria (or simply phages)

• They are obligate intracellular pathogens (must enter a cell to replicate)
• 3 categories of bacteriophages based on SHAPE
1. Icosahedron bacteriophages: an almost spherical shape, with 20
triangular facets,it is the smallest icosahedron phages (25nm in
diameter)
2. Filamentous bacteriophages:long tubes formed by capsid proteins
assembled into helical structure (about 900nm long)
3. Complex bacteriophages:icosahedral heads attached to helical tails, they
may possess base plates and tail fibers
Discovery and therapeutic use of
bacteriophages
• Bacteriophages were discovered separately by Frederick Twort in 1915 and
Felix d’Herelle in 1917
• Felix d’ Herelle and his collaborators coined the term “bacteriophage”
(phagein- Greek word which means to devour)
• Bacteriophage were first used therapeutically, used to treat bacterial
infections in humans and animals (1919)
• Interest in the use of bacteriophage therapeutically started to decline around
the time antibiotics were discovered (1940s)
• Since the emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria (“superbugs”), research
into the use of bacteriophages to treat bacterial diseases has been renewed.
Bacteriophages

• Categorized based by the type of nucleic acid that they possess:

1. Single –stranded DNA phages
2. Double-stranded DNA phages
3. Single-stranded RNA phages
4. Double-stranded RNA phages
Bacteriophages

• Categorized by the events that occur after invasion of the

bacterial cell:
• 1. Virulent phages
• 2. Temperate phages
• Both do not enter the bacterial cell but instead inject their
nucleic acid into the cell
 Virulent phages
• Always cause LYTIC CYCLE
which ends in the destruction
(lysis) of the bacterial cell
(table4-3)
Temperate phages
• Also called LYSOGENIC phages
• Their DNA remains integrated
into the bacterial cell
chromosome, generation after
generation
• They do not immediately
initiate lytic cycle
Steps in the Multiplication of Bacteriophages
(Lytic Cycle)
Step Name of step What occurs
1 Attachment (adsorption) Phage attaches to a protein/polysaccharide molecule(receptor)
on the surface of the bacterial cell

2 Penetration Phage injects its DNA into the bacterial cell; capsid remains on
the outer surface of the cell
3 Biosynthesis Phage genes are expressed, resulting in the production of phage
pieces or parts (phage DNA and proteins)

4 Assembly Phage pieces or parts are assembled to create complete phages

5 Release Complete phages escape from the bacterial cell by lysis of the
cell
Animal viruses

• Viruses that infect humans and animals

• Some are DNA viruses and some are RNA viruses
• Consist solely of NUCLEIC ACID surrounded by a protein coat
(capsid) or they may be more complex
• They may be enveloped or they may contain enzymes that play a
role in viral multiplications within host cell
 Multiplication of Animal viruses (steps)
Step Name of step What occurs

1 Attachment (adsorption) Virus attaches to a receptor on the surface of a host cell

2 Penetration Entire virus enters the host cell, in some cases because it was
phagocytized by the cell

3 Uncoating Viral nucleic acid escapes from capsid

4 Biosynthesis Viral genes are expressed, resulting in the production of

pieces or parts of viruses (viral DNA and viral proteins)

5 Assembly Viral pieces or parts are assembled to vreate complete virions

6 Release Complete virions escape from the host cells by lysis or

budding
• Inclusion bodies: remnants or collections of viruses are often seen
in infected cells and are used as a diagnostic tool to identify
certain viral diseases
• In rabies, the cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in nerve cells are called
Negri bodies
• Inclusion bodies of AIDS and Guarnieri bodies of smallpox are
cytoplasmic
• Herpes and poliomyelitis cause intranuclear inclusion bodies
• In each case inclusion bodies may represent collections of viruses
Important human viral diseases

• Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

• Chickenpox
• Cold sores
• Common cold
• Ebola virus infections
• Genital herpes infections
• German measles
• Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
• Infectious mononucleosis
• Influenza, measles, mumps,poliomyelitis, rabies, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS),
viral encephalitis, all human warts are caused by viruses
• Latent Virus infections: infected persons is always harboring the
virus in nerve cells
• Example: herpes virus infections such as cold sores (fever blisters)
which come and go and shingles caused by herpes virus
• A FEVER, STRESS, OR EXCESSIVE SUNLIGHT can trigger the viral
genes to take over the cells and produce more viruses
• Latent virus infections are usually limited by the defense systems
of the human body (phagocytes and antiviral proteins called
INTERFERONS
Antiviral agents

• Drugs used to treat viral infections are called antiviral agents

• They interfere with virus-specific enzymes and virus production by
either disrupting critical phases in viral cycles or inhibiting the synthesis
of viral DNA, RNA or proteins
• Antibiotics function by inhibiting certain metabolic activities within
cellular pathogens
• For certain patients with colds and influenza, antibiotics may be
prescribed in an attempt to prevent secondary bacterial infections that
might follow the virus infection
• Note: antibiotics are not effective against viral infections
Oncogenic viruses

• Viruses that cause cancer Epstein –Barr virus (a type of herpes virus) causes 3
types of human cancers: nasopharyngeal carcinoma,Burkitt lymphoma, and B-
cell lymphoma,
• Kaposi sarcoma, a type of cancer common in AIDS patients, is caused by
human herpesvirus 8
• Associations between hepatitis B and C viruses and hepatocellular (liver)
carcinoma have been established.
• Human papillomaviruses (HPV;wart viruses) can cause cancers of the cervix
and other parts of genital tract
• Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 causes a rare type of adult T-cell leukemia
Human Immunodeficiency Virus

• HIV, the cause of AIDS, is an enveloped, single-stranded RNA

viruses
• It is a member of genus of viruses called lentiviruses, in a family of
viruses called Retroviridae (retroviruses)
• HIV is able to attach to and invade cells bearing receptors that the
virus recognizes
• CD4, receptor and the cell bearing this receptor is called CD4+
cells (T cell)
• HIV infections destroy these cells of the immune system
Mimivirus and Megavirus

• The Mimivirus is an extremely large double-stranded DNA virus

was recovered from amebas; mimivirus “mimics” bacteria
• Mimivirus can be seen using a standard compound light microscope
because it so large.
• Mimivirus may be the cause of some cases of pneumonia
• Megavirus chilensis: larger double-stranded DNA virus; has the
largest capsid diameter (440 nm) and largest most complex
genome of all known viruses. No known
Plant viruses

• More than 1000 different viruses cause plant diseases, including

diseases of citrus trees, cocoa trees, rice, barley, tobacco,
turnips, cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes and many other fruits,
vegetables, trees and grains
• Plant viruses are usually transmitted via insects (aphids,leaf
hoppers and whiteflies); mites; nematodes (round worms);
infected seeds, cuttings and tubers and contaminated tools (hoes,
clippers and saw)
Viroids and Prions

• Smaller than viruses; less complex infectious agents

• Viroids: consist of short, naked fragments of single-stranded RNA about 300-
400 nucleotides in length that can interfere with the metabolism of plant cells
and bystunt the growth of plants, sometimes killing the plants in the process
• Plant diseases thought or known to be caused by viroids
• Prions (pree-ons) are infectious protein molecules that cause a variety of
animal and human diseases
• small infectious proteins apparently cause fatal neurological diseases in
animals such as scapie in sheep and goats, bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(“mad cow disease”)
Cell morphology

Three basic shapes of bacteria: 1. round (spherical) bacteria (cocci –

plural or coccus –singular) 2. rectangular or rod-shaped bacteria-the
bacilli (sing; bacillus) 3. curved and spiral-shaped bacteria (referred
to as spirilla)
Cocci may be seen singly or in pairs (diplococci), chains
(streptococci), clusters (staphylococci), packets of four (tetrads) or
packets of eight (octads) depending on the particular species and
the manner in which the cells divide
Examples: Enterococcus spp., Neisseria spp., Staphylococcus spp
• Bacilli (often referred to as rods), may be short or long, thick or
thin, pointed or with curved or blunt ends examples: diplobacilli,
streptobacilli
• Medically impt bacilli: Escherichia, Klebsiella, Proteus, Salmonella
and Shigella)
• Spiral-shaped bacteria are called spirochetes
Mycoplasmas

• Smallest of the cellular microbes, they lack cell wall so they assume
many shapes from coccoid to filamentous, they appear pleomorphic
when examined microscopically
• They are free-living or parasitic and are pathogenic to many animals
and some plants
• In humans, pathogenic mycoplasmas cause primary atypical
pneumonia and genitourinary infections
• They have no cell wall and so they are resistant to treatment with
penicillin and other antibiotics that work by inhibiting cell wall
synthesis
Photosynthetic bacteria

• Include purple bacteria, green bacteria, and cyanobacteria; all

three use light as energy source
• Oxygenic photosynthesis: photosynthesis that produces oxygen
• Anoxygenic photosynthesis: photosynthesis that does not produce
oxygen
• Cyanobacteria: the first organisms capable of carrying out
oxygenic photosynthesis
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