Viruses

Content

1. introduction
2. Structure
3. infection
4. VIRUS FAMILLIES
1. Introduction
 1

What are the viruses?

Cell parasites

Genetic parasites

Virosphere  Biosphere
 1

Introduction
VARIABILITY

- Viruses infect all life forms: archae bacteria, eubacteria, eukaryotes (unicellular organisms, plants, fungi, animals)
Infection - Human pathogens: mild diseases (common cold: rhinoviruses; lethal (rabies); oncogenic (human papillomavirus)
- Integrating (retrovirus), non-integrating: nucleus (herpesviruses), cytoplasm (poxviruses)
- Infection: rapid (influenza virus), slow (HIV)
- productive, latent, abortive
- Dependo viruses (adeno-associated virus)

- RNA, DNA
- linear, circular
Genome - ds, ss (minus, plus)
- single nucleic acid, segmented (influenza virus)
- complex (poxviruses, herpesviruses), simple (rabies virus)

Structure Naked, enveloped

SIMILARITY
They are small (max 200 nm)
They are obligate parasites: they require: building blocks (amino acids), protein synthesizing machinery, energy (ATP)
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The discovery of viruses

Tobacco mosaic virus

Dimitrij Ivansovsky Martinus Beijerinck

Foot and mouth disease

Friedrich Löffler Paul Frosch

 3

Are viruses living?

spore
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Origin of viruses

1. The Regressive Hypothesis

2. The Progressive Hypothesis

3. The Symbiont Hypothesis

4. The Virus-First Hypothesis

 4b
The descent of viruses
1. No fossils are available

int
pr
ot
fo
tic
ne
Ge
R
fam ootle
i ly s Ra 2. No genetic traces
tre pi de
e vol
uti
on
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Classification of viruses

International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses; ICTV): 1966

Application of taxonomy of call-based organisms to viruses (species, genus, subfamily, family)

BUT: no higher order taxa, since we do not know the descendance!
(rootless evolutionary tree)

classification:
Earlier: morphology, way of infection
Today: comparison of genome sequences
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Baltimore Classification
of viruses
David Baltimore
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Thief viruses

Herpes simplex virus

From host cell:

DNA polymerase gene
Ribonucleotide reductase gene
Thymidine kinase gene
2. Structure
 8
Virion: outside the cell

Virus Genomes Vegetative virus: inside the cell

Provírus: in the host genome

DNA genomes RNA viruses that do have

ss, linear parvoviruses
DNA phase
- retroviruses: reverse transcriptase
ds, linear poxviruses, adenoviruses, herpesviruses
RNA viruses that do not
have DNA phase
ss, circular phage X174 - Influenza virus, poliovirus:
RNA-dependent RNA polymerase

ds, circular baculoviruses (insect viruses) Genome-integrating viruses

- HIV, parvoviruses

RNA genomes Viruses with segmented

ss, linear retroviruses, polioviruses: plus strand genomes
influenza virus, rabies virus: minus strand
ds, linear reoviruses - Influenza virus

Segmented RNA genome

ss, circular hepatitis delta virus

 The components of viruses
Naked forms Enveloped forms
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Capsid enve
lo p e
id
ps
ca
c leo
nu

I. influenza virus

HELIX

II. adenoviruses, herpesviruses

ICOSAHEDRON

III.
ROD
HIV

baculoviruses

CONE
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Enveloped viruses

herpesvirus
sphere influenza virus

bullet rabies virus

rod baculovirus

thread ebola
3. Infection
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VIRAL INFECTION
Phases of viral infection

1. Attachment of a virion to a cell

2. Entry into the cell (penetration)
3. Transcription of virus genes into mRNA molecules
4. Translation of virus mRNAs into virus proteins
5. Genome replication
6. Assembly of proteins and genomes into virions
7. Exit of the virions from the cell (egress)

enveloped virus

1
receptor-mediated endocytosis 2 s
tein
o
pr
aps
id 6
c
endosome
7
5
3,4 nucleic acid
envelo
pe pro
tein

nucleus
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Attachment
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Entry to the cell (penetration)

Naked viruses
Enveloped viruses
Membrane fusion
 Endocytosis

plasma membrane
uncoating

s o me
e ndo

receptors
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Entry to the cell (penetration)

Influenza virus Adenovirus
HIV Poliovirus

cytosol cytosol cytosol cytosol

fusion endocytosis endocytosis endocytosis

Uncoating
(nucleocapsid)

Lysis

Release from
Release of RNA and proteins from the endosome the endosome
(fusion: between viral envelope and endosomal membrane)

Only the RNA gets out

from the endosome Nuclear envelope
The DNA enters the nucleus
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Intracellular transport
Viruses replicating in the nucleus:
- The majority of DNA viruses
- Influenza viruses
- Lentiviruses (e.g. HIV)

Viruses replicating in the cytoplasm:

- The majority of RNS viruses
- Poxviruses (e.g. small pox)
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modified
central dogma

CENTRAL DOGMA
transcription translation
DNA RNA protein Francis Crick

genome
replication

DNA

MODIFIED CENTRAL DOGMA

transcription translation
DNA RNA protein
reverse transcription
genome genome
replication replication

DNA RNA
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Transcription, translation, modification

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Transcription of cellular genes

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Transcription of viral genes

(-)ssRNA (influenza viruses)

ds: double-stranded DdRp: DNA-dependent RNA polymerase

ss: single-stranded RdRp: RNA-dependent RNA polymerase
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Transcription of viral genes

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Translation of cellular mRNAs

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Translation of viral mRNAs

1. IRES
2. Bi-cistronic mRNAs

1. leaky scanning

1. leaky scanning

2. Ribosomal frameshifting

3. IRES
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Transport of newly
synthesized proteins

HIV Rev protein

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Genome replication
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Genome replication
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Genome replication
 20

Genome replication

theta-type replication sigma-type replication

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assembly

Viruses with helical symmetry Viruses with icosahedral symmetry

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egress
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egress
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Herpesviruses

egress

Poxviruses
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Outcomes of viral infection

 Battle between the host and the parasite

Virulence, as an interest
Restriction of maximal virulence