Viruses

Dr Kasonda
3/ 11/ 2016

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, students are
expected to be able to:
Define different terms used in virology
Describe characteristic of viruses
Describe structure of the virus
Compare virus and bacteria cell structures

 Viruses: Are smallest infectious agents (ranging from

about 20 nm to about 300 nm in diameter) and contain
only one kind of nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) as their genome
Virology: Is study of viruses
Capsid: The protein shell, or coat that encloses the
nucleic acid genome.
Nucleocapsid: The protein-nucleic acid complex plus a
capsid. Sometimes it is a complete virion.
Capsomeres: Morphologic units of a capsid
Virion: The complete virus particle. In some instances the
virion is identical with the nucleocapsid. In more complex
virion, it includes the nucleocapsid plus a surrounding
envelope.

 Envelope: A lipid-containing membrane

that surrounds some virus particles.
Structural units: The basic protein
building blocks of the coat. They are
usually a collection of more than one
identical protein subunit. The structural
unit is often referred to as a protomer
Subunit: A single folded viral polypeptide
chain
Defective virus: A virus particle that is
functionally deficient in some aspect of
replication.

Characteristics of
Viruses
They are small in size ranging from about 20 nm to about 300 nm in
diameter.
They are akaryotic particles (neither eukaryotes nor prokaryotes)
They contain either DNA or RNA and not both as their genome
They exhibit living properties when inside the living cells (i.e. they
are incapable of independent reproduction unless they are in the
living cell)
They are non motile
They can be grown in cell cultures
Viruses are known to infect unicellular organisms such as
mycoplasmas, bacteria, and algae and all higher plants and animals

Structure of Viruses
Generally the virus structure is made
of three basic units
Envelop made of glycoprotein and
lipids
Capsid
Viral core (RNA or DNA)

Basic Structure of Virus

Enveloped Virus with Icosahedral Symmetry.

B: Virus with Helical Symmetry

Parts of the Viral Structure and

its Function
Envelop is the outermost coat of the virus made of
lipid and proteins
o Its function is to support glycoproteins or spikes
used for attachment to the host cel.l
o Gives stability to the virus
o Protects the inner parts of the virus
o It is usually derived from the host cell during
release (budding)
o Virus with an envelop are less stable than non
enveloped virus (they can be destroyed by
disinfectants or adverse condition of the
environment)

 Capsid is a protein coat which covers the viral genome,

it is made up of repeating subunits called capsomers

o The repeating subunits of the capsid give the virus a

symmetric appearance that is
useful for classification purposes
o Some viral nucleocapsids have spherical (icosahedral)
symmetry where as others have helical symmetry.
o All human viruses that have a helical nucleocapsid are
enveloped (there are not naked helical viruses that
infect humans)
o Viruses that have an icosahedral nucleocapsid can be
either enveloped or naked.

 Viral Core contains genetic materials

necessary for replication. They include
either DNA
or RNA, never both
o Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) containing
viruses are double stranded except
parvoviruses which have single strand DNA
o Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) containing viruses
are single stranded. Example human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
o Nucleic acid can either be linear or
circular, continuous or segmented.

Comparison between Viral and

Bacterial Cell Structures.
Characteristic

Bacteria

Virus

Ribosomes

Present

Absent

Outermost
structure
Peptidoglycan cell wall

Nucleic acid

Enzymes
Size

or capsule/slime layer in
some
DNA and RNA. Exists as

Protein coat or lipid viral envelope

DNA or RNA can be double

stranded or single-stranded
circular or linear continues
or segmented.

double-stranded and
circular in shape
Present
Larger (1000nm)

Only present in some

Smaller (20 - 400nm)

Key Points
A virus is the smallest infectious agent
(ranging from about 20 nm to about 300 nm
in
diameter) and contains only one kind of
nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) as its genome
Most viruses are pathogenic to human
Viruses are obligate intracellular i.e replicate
only when they are inside the living cells
Viruses contain either DNA or RNA but not
both

 Evaluation
List basic structures of a virus.
What are characteristics of a virus?

THANK YOU