Viruses What are they? How do they work? Where do they come from? And… What good are they? Viruses

What is a virus? An infectious agent made up of: a core of nucleic acid – DNA or RNA and (ONLY ABOUT 5 GENES) a protein coat (capsid)

How Big are viruses? Polio virus = 20 nanometers 20nm 1 nm – 0ne billionth of a meter! 3000 polio viruses fit across the diameter of a period at the end of a sentence in your book.

Some viruses are naked! They have no envelope Some viruses have no envelope – they’re naked!

Some viruses have an envelope to cover them! Envelope – came from host’s cell membrane when virus budded out of host

Viruses don’t reproduce….. They Replicate. Once inside a cell, the cell does all the work and produces new viruses using the inserted DNA or RNA as a guide.

Lytic Cycle 1. Attachment 2. injection 3. replication a 4. assembly 5. Lysis The lytic cycle

Are viruses living or nonliving? What are some characteristics of life? Do viruses exhibit these characteristics?

When were viruses discovered? Viruses have apparently always been around. However, it wasn’t until 1897 that tobacco mosaic virus was discovered – it was causing the tobacco plants to shrivel and be unusable. Other plants can get TMV – tomatoes, for example. Don’t smoke in a greenhouse.

Classification of Viruses 1. By Shape 2. Host type 3. function Retroviruses attack a certain way. DNA viruses attack another way. Animal viruses Plant viruses Bacteria viruses

Retroviruses Contain RNA When infecting a cell, these viruses have to first change the RNA to DNA. Once part of the cell’s Dna, the viral code can cause the cell to make more viruses. HIV is one of these.

Nonviral infectious agents VIROIDS –Single strand of RNA –Causes plant diseases

How do Prions work? Prions –PIECE OF PROTEIN –CAUSE OF MAD- COW DISEASE –CAN INFECT ANIMALS – INCLUDING HUMANS

Human diseases caused by viruses Common cold Influenza (flu) Chickenpox Polio HIV Some pneumonia Some meningitis herpes

Viruses in the biosphere Animal diseases –Distemper –Rabies –pneumonia Plant Diseases –Discolor leaves –Stunt growth –Kill plants

Uses for viruses Vaccines – dead or weakened form that stimulates the immune system to fight the virus when exposed to it. Genetic engineering – use a virus carrier to insert genes into diseased cells. Agriculture –Pest control –Colorful variations in some plants - flowers

Interesting Viruses Ebola virus – kills quickly; requires close contact, such as when preparing a body for burial or using dirty needles; since it kills so fast, it generally dies out quickly.

Human sarcoma virus – causes tumors Adenovirus – causes The Common cold – There Are over 200 different Cold viruses

Bacteriophages – infect bacteria; very well studied.

Smallpox – once wiped out entire nations, now a memory – Most successful vaccination program in world. Smallpox virus Aren’t you glad there’s no smallpox anymore?

Vaccines – dead or weakened form of virus injected to provide immunity.

First vaccine Chinese had been using the idea for centuries, but didn’t market it. Dr. Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids who had had cowpox rarely got smallpox. –Injected a boy with cowpox pus – he got cowpox –When injected with smallpox pus, he did not get it!

The end