INTRODUCTION TO

VIROLOGY
 Mimivirus-dependent virus Sputnik
Depends on coinfection of a helper virus
and uses its machinery for reproduction and
inhibits replication of the helper virus

Bacteriophage ???
Virophage ???

Mimivirus
 VIRUSES - HISTORY
Selected milestones related to Virology

 15. century China

 18. cent. Lady Montagu
 18. cent. – Edward Jenner
 2. half of 19. cent. – discovery of filters (ceramic, Chamberland porcelane)
 Dmitrij Ivanovski (use porcelain filter to discover filtrable component
causing tobacco mosaic disease – TMD)
 Martinus Beijerinck (causat. agent of TMD is not bacteria, but
„some poison“ – (VIRUS = latin word for poison)
 1931 - electron microscope (Ernst Ruska, Max Knoll)
 Present problems of virology

 HIV
 Viral hemorragic fever
- Arenavirus (Lassa, Junin, Machupo)
- Bunyaviruses (crimean congo hemorrhagic fever,
Rift Valley fever, Hantaan hem.fever)
- Filoviruses (Ebola, Marburg)
- Flaviviruses (Yellow fever, dengue, Omsk hem. hor., Kyasanur
forrest disease)
 SARS, MERS, SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 world
as of October 25th,2020
SARS-CoV-2 world
as of October 24th,2021
 SARS – CoV-2
2020 vs 2021

Cases Deaths
2020 42 986 000 1 152 000

2021 243 670 000 4 948 000

CLASSIFICATION OF VIRUSES
General Characteristics
of Viruses
 1. viruses may be regarded as exceptionally simple living
microbes.
 2. Viruses contain
a single type of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and
a protein coat,
sometimes enclosed by an envelope
(composed of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates)
 3. Viruses are obligatory intracellular parasites. They
multiply by using the host cell's synthesizing machinery to
cause the synthesis of specialized elements that can
transfer the viral nucleic acid to other cells.
SIZE OF SELECTED MICROBES

Viruses size range

from 20 to 300 nm in diameter

from 20 to 14,000 nm in length.

length
 Viral Structure
A virion is a complete, fully developed viral
particle composed of nucleic acid surrounded
by a coat.
 Nucleic Acid A: Nonenveloped virus with
an icosahedral nucleocapsid.
1. Viruses contain either DNA or RNA, never B: Enveloped virus with
both, and the nucleic acid may be single- or
double-stranded, linear or circular, or divided a helical nucleocapsid.
into several separate molecules.
2. The proportion of nucleic acid in relation to
protein in viruses ranges from about 1% to about
50%.
Capsid and Envelope
 1. The protein coat surrounding the nucleic acid
of a virus is called the capsid.
 2. The capsid is composed of subunits,
capsomeres, which can be a single type of
protein or several types.
 3. The capsid of some viruses is enclosed by an
envelope consisting of lipids, proteins, and
carbohydrates.
 4. Some envelopes are covered with
carbohydrate-protein complexes called spikes.
 Viral Structure
General Morphology
1. Helical viruses (e.g., Ebola virus) resemble long rods and
their capsids are hollow cylinders surrounding the nucleic
acid.
2. Polyhedral viruses (e.g., Adenovirus) are many-sided.
Usually the capsid is an icosahedron.
3. Enveloped viruses are covered by an envelope and are
roughly spherical but highly pleomorphic (e.g., Poxvirus).
There are also enveloped helical viruses (e.g.,
Influenzavirus) and enveloped polyhedral viruses (for
example, Herpesvirus).
4. Complex viruses have complex structures. For example,
many bacteriophages have a polyhedral capsid with a
helical tail attached.
DNA VIRUSES – morphology
RNA VIRUSES – morphology
 SYMMETRY OF VIRUSES

) Icosahedral symmetry
An icosahedron is a solid with twenty faces and 5:3:2 rotational symmetry

Proteins associate into structural units (this is what we see in the electron microscope) -
the capsomers - may contain one or several kinds of polypeptide chain
Capsomers at the 12 corners have a 5-fold symmetry and interact with 5 neighboring
capsomers, and are thus known as pentons or pentamers.
Larger viruses contain more capsomers; extra capsomers are arranged in a regular array
on the  faces of the icosahedrons. They have six neighbors and are called hexons or
hexamers.
B) Helical symmetry
Protein subunits can interact with each other and with the nucleic acid to
form a coiled, ribbon like structure.
Virus with helical symmetry - non-enveloped plant virus tobacco mosaic virus.
C) Complex symmetry

These are regular structures, but the nature of the symmetry is not fully
understood. Examples include the poxviruses.
Baltimore classification
 DNA VIRUSES
Virion
  Symmetry Env Size Comments and some examples
polymerase
Include adeno-associated virus, human
PARVOVIRIDAE  I -  20nm     
parvovirus B19.

Includes hepatitis B virus which may

HEPADNAVIRIDAE  I  + 42nm +
increase risk of hepatocarcinoma.

Polyoma group: SV40, some members

cause PML.  
PAPOVAVIRIDAE I  - 40-60nm - Papilloma group: some members cause
warts, some associated with increased
risk of cervical cancer

ADENOVIRIDAE   I  - 80nm - More than 40 human serotypes

Latency common. Includes herpes

simplex type 1 and 2, varicella zoster
HERPESVIRIDAE I  + 190nm  - virus (chicken pox, shingles), Epstein
Barr virus (infectious mononucleosis),
cytomegalovirus.

200nm x Vaccinia, smallpox, cowpox viruses 

POXVIRIDAE C + +
350nm Cytoplasmic, very complex.
 RNA VIRUSES - POSITIVE SENSE
Includes enteroviruses, rhinoviruses,
PICORNAVIRIDAE I - 30nm  - coxsackie virus, poliovirus, hepatitis A
virus
 gastroenteritis, Norwalk agent probably a
CALICIVIRIDAE  I  - 35nm  -
member
Alphavirus genus: includes western equine
encephalitis virus (WEE), eastern
equine encephalitis virus
(EEE),Venezuelan equine encephalitis
TOGAVIRIDAE  I + 60-70nm -
virus, Chikungunya virus, Sindbis
virus, Semliki Forest virus
                        Rubrivirus genus:
contains only rubella virus
Include yellow fever, dengue, Japanese
encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis
FLAVIVIRIDAE       I +  40-55nm - viruses, etc. Have only recently been
given family status (formerly classed
with Togaviridae).
Estimated responsible for 10-30% of
CORONAVIRIDAE  H + 75-160nm -
common colds
Have reverse transcriptase, some members
RETROVIRIDAE I + 100nm + oncogenic in animals. HIV is a
member. Diploid genome.
 RNA VIRUSES - NEGATIVE SENSE

These include rabies virus, vesicular

RHABDOVIRIDAE 
 H + 60 x 180nm + stomatitis virus, Mokola virus,
 
Duvenhage virus
Includes Newcastle disease virus,
parainfluenza viruses, mumps virus,
PARAMYXOVIRIDAE  H + 150-300nm +
measles virus, respiratory syncytial
virus
Influenza type A and B viruses have
ORTHOMYXOVIRIDAE  H  +  80-120nm + segmented genome. They steal
mRNA caps

Over 86 members, most have arthropod

vectors. Members include California
encephalitis, LaCrosse, Crimean-
Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Rift
Valley fever viruses. Members of the
BUNYAVIRIDAE   H + 95nm +
hantavirus genus (includes agents of
Korean hemorrhagic fever, human
pulmonary syndrome in USA) seem to
have rodent vectors. Segmented
genome.

 Includes lymphocytic choriomeningitis,

ARENAVIRIDAE  H  
FILOVIRIDAE  H  
Lassa, Junin (Argentine hemorrhagic
+ 50-300nm + fever), and Machupo (Bolivian
hemorrhagic fever) viruses.
Segmented genome
80nm x 800-
+  + Marburg virus, Ebola virus, Reston virus
900nm
 RNA VIRUSES - DOUBLE STRANDED
Virion Comments and some
  Symmetry Envelope Size
polymerase examples

The reoviridae include the 

reovirus, rotavirus and
orbivirus genera.
Human reovirus infections
are apparently
asymptomatic., 
REOVIRIDAE Members of this group that
I  - 75nm +
  affect humans include
Colorado tick fever virus
(orbivirus) and human
rotaviruses (can cause
gastroenteritis). All of these
viruses have segmented
genomes
VIRAL GROWTH CYCLE
1. Adsorption
2. Penetration
3. Uncoating
4. Early transcription
5. Early translation
6. DNA synthesis and
late transcription
7. Late translation
–––––––––––––––––––-
8. Assembly
9. Release

Most enveloped viruses derive their

Iipoprotein envelope from the cell membrane.
The matrix protein mediates the interaction
between the viral nucleocapsid and the viral
envelope.
 UNCONVENTIONAL AGENTS

There are also the 'unconventional agents' sometimes known as

'unconventional viruses' or 'atypical viruses' - the main kinds which
have been studied so far are viroids and prions.
 VIROIDS

-the smallest infectious pathogens known

-single stranded, circular RNAs, 400 nucleotides,
-do not appear to code for any proteins,
-shown to be associated with plant disease.
-the only known human disease agent to resemble viroids
is hepatitis delta agent.
(appears to be intermediate between 'classical viruses' and viroids).
 PRIONS

- contain protein only (although this is somewhat controversial).

- small, proteinaceous particles

The infectious agent is a misfolded form of a host-encoded

protein called prion (PrP).  The two forms of prion are
designated as PrPc, which is a normally folded protein, and
PrPsc,
- there is controversy as to whether they contain any nucleic acid, but if
there is any, there is very little, and almost certainly not enough to code for
protein
 PRION DISEASES

Classic CJD is a neurodegenerative disorder with characteristic clinical and diagnostic

features. - rapidly progressive
- always fatal. (infection with this disease leads to death usually within 1 year of onset of illness )
- CJD is believed to be caused by an abnormal isoform of a cellular glycoprotein known as
the
prion protein.
- CJD occurs worldwide
- estimated
Variant global annual incidence
Creutzfeldt-Jakob about one
disease (vCJD) case per million
first described in 1996population.
in the United Kingdom.
(the agent responsible for the outbreak of prion disease in cows, bovine spongiform
encephalopathy - BSE or ‘mad cow’ disease, is the same agent responsible for the outbreak of
vCJD in humans)
 VIRUSOID

 are subviral particles rather than viruses.

 Since they depend on helper viruses, they are classified as satellites.
 are circular single-stranded RNA(s) dependent on viruses for replication
and encapsidation.
 The genome of virusoids consist of several hundred (200–400) nucleotides
and does not code for any proteins.
 Virusoids are essentially viroids that have been encapsulated by a helper
virus coat protein.
SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 world SLOVAKIA
as of October 25th,2020