General structure and classification of viruses

Viruses are ancient

• many epidemics of viral diseases occurred before anyone understood the
nature of their causative agents.
• measles and smallpox viruses were among the causes for the decline of the
Roman Empire

Paralytic infection by Poliovirus

The concept of virus

• Edward Jenner (1798), introduced the term virus in

microbiology.
• Virus in Greek means poison.
• Edward Jenner noticed that milk maids who infected
with cowpox develop immunity against smallpox.
• He inoculated a boy with the vesicle fluid taken from
the hand of infected maid.
• The boy developed sustained immunity against
smallpox.
The concept of virus.

• Edward Jenner assumed that the vesicle fluid

that has been taken from the hand of the milk
maid contained a poison ( virus ), that was
responsible for immunity.
 Discovery of Viruses

• Charles Chamberland (1884)

– developed porcelain bacterial filters, viruses can pass through
• Dimitri Ivanowski (1892)
– demonstrated that causative agent of tobacco mosaic disease
passed through bacterial filters
– thought agent was a toxin
• Martinus Beijerinck (1898-1900)
– showed that causative agent of tobacco mosaic disease was
still infectious after filtration
– referred to as filterable agent
• Loeffler and Frosch (1898-1900)
– showed that foot-and-mouth disease in cattle was caused by
filterable virus
 Discovery of Viruses…

• Walter Reed (1900)

– yellow fever caused by filterable virus transmitted by
mosquitoes
• Ellerman and Bang (1908)
– leukemia in chickens was caused by a virus
• Peyton Rous (1911)
– muscle tumors in chickens were caused by a virus
• Frederick Twort (1915)
– first to isolate viruses that infect bacteria (bacteriophages or
phages)
• Felix d’Herelle (1917)
– firmly established the existence of bacteriophages
– devised plaque assay
– bacteriophages only reproduce in live bacteria
General characteristics of viruses

• Viruses are smaller than bacteria, they range in size between

20-300 nanometer ( nm ).
• Viruses contain only one type of nucleic acid, either DNA or
RNA, but never both.
• Viruses consist of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat.
Some viruses have additional lipoprotein envelope.

• Viruses lack cellular organelles, such as mitochondria and

ribosomes.
General characteristics of viruses

• Viruses are obligate cellular parasites. They

replicate only inside living cells.
• Viruses replicate through replication of their
nucleic acid and synthesis of the viral protein.
• Viruses do not multiply in chemically defined
media.
• Viruses do not undergo binary fission.
 What is a Virus?
• Not living
– Are intracellular parasites
• Depends on host metabolism
– Energy, materials, enzymes
Virion: a complete virus particle
• has a genome
– DNA or RNA, single- or double-stranded
• has a protein coat
– “Capsid”
– Protects genome
– Mediates host attachment
Terminology

• Virion: The complete virus particle.

• Capsid: The protein coat that surrounds nucleic acid.
• Nucleocapsid: The nucleic acid plus the capsid.
• Capsomeres: The structural protein units that made up the
capsid.
• Defective virus: the virus cannot replicate by its own, it
requires helper virus.
• Nanometer : milli-micron.
General structure of viruses

• Viruses composed of nucleic acid either DNA or RNA,

surrounded by a protein coat called the capsid.
• The capsid is composed of small structural units called
capsomeres.
• The capsid protects nucleic acid from inactivation by
the outer physical conditions.
• Some viruses have additional lipoprotein envelope ,
composed of virally coded protein and host lipid. The
viral envelope is covered with glycoprotein spikes.
General structure of viruses

• Some viruses have enzymes inside the virion. All ss- RNA
viruses with negative polarity have the enzyme transcriptase
( RNA dependent RNA polymerase) inside virions.
• Retroviruses and hepatitis B virus contain the enzyme reverse
transcriptase.
 The Structure of Viruses
• ~10-400 nm in diameter ; too small to be seen
with the light microscope
• Contain a nucleocapsid which is composed of
nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and a protein coat
(capsid)
– some viruses consist only of a nucleocapsid, others have
additional components
• Enveloped vs naked viruses
– enveloped viruses: surrounded by membrane
– naked viruses: do not have envelope
 Viral Envelopes and Enzymes
• Envelope: outer, flexible, membranous layer
• spikes or peplomers virally encoded proteins, may
project from the envelope
– Neuraminidase
releases mature virions
from cells
– Hemagglutinin binds
cellular receptor
• RNA dependent RNA pol
Replicates – sense genome Influenza virus
 Capsids
• large macromolecular structures which serve as protein
coat of virus
• protect viral genetic material and aids in its transfer
between host cells
• made of protein subunits called protomers
• Protmers form capsomers that arrange symmetrically to
form the coat
• Symmetry in capsid
– Helical
– Icosahedral
– complex
 Helical Capsids
• Filamentous capsids
– Long tube of protein, with genome inside
– Tube made up of hundreds of identical protein subunits
• Tube length reflects size of viral genome

DNA or RNA coiled

inside tube

Capsid proteins
 Influenza Virus – Enveloped Virus with a Helical Nucleocapsid

 Helical symmetry
 Segmented genome
 8 RNA genome
segments
 Icosahedral Capsids

• Icosahedral capsids
– 20 triangular sides
– Each triangle made up of at least 3 identical capsid
proteins
– Arranged in 2,3 and 5 fold symmetry
– Many animal viruses
 Viruses with Capsids of Complex Symmetry

• some viruses do not fit into helical or icosahedral

capsids symmetry groups
• examples are the poxviruses and large
bacteriophages

Phage T4

Vaccinia virus

Binal symetry: head icosahedron, tail helical

Tail fibers and sheath used for binding and
pins for injecting genome
Symmetry of viruses

Viruses are divided into three groups, based on the

morphology of the nucleocapsid and the
arrangement of capsomeres.
• 1-Cubic symmetry:
The virus particle is icosahedral in shape (almost
spherical particle ) and the nucleic acid contained
inside the capsid. The icosahedron particle is
composed of 20 equilateral triangles , 12 vertices
and has 2,3,5 rotational symmetry.
Classification of viruses

Viruses are divided into two large groups:

• RNA containing viruses.
• DNA containing viruses.
Baltimore classification

Viruses were divided into six groups based on the their nucleic
acid and m-RNA production.
• 1- ds-DNA viruses.
• 2- ss-DNA viruses.
• 3- ds- RNA viruses.
• 4- ss-RNA viruses with positive strands( positive polarity).
• 5- ss-RNA viruses with negative strands(negative polarity).
• 6- ss-RNA viruses associated with the enzyme reverse
transcriptase.
 1- Double stranded DNA families of medical
importance

• 1- Poxviridae.
• 2- Herpesviridae.
• 3- Hepadnaviridae.
• 4- Adenoviridae.
• 5- Papovaviridae.
2- Single stranded DNA families.
3- Double stranded RNA families.

• Single stranded DNA family:

1- Parvovoridae.

• Double stranded RNA family:

1- Reoviridae .
4- Single stranded RNA families with positive strands

• 1-Picornaviridae.
• 2- Caliciviridae.
• 3- Astroviridae.
• 4- Coronaviridae.
• 5- Flaviviradae.
• 6- Togaviridae.
• The viral genome acts directly as m-RNA.
5- Single stranded RNA families with negative strands

• 1- Orthomyxoviridae.
• 2- Paramyxoviridae.
• 3- Rhabdoviridae.
• 4- Filoviridae.

• The viral genome does not act as m-RNA.

• It must be transcribed by the viral enzyme transcriptase into
m-RNA.
• Virions contain the enzyme transcriptase.
6-Single stranded RNA viruses associated with the
enzyme reverse transcriptase

• Retroviruses.

• The viral genome is reverse transcribed into a complementary

DNA strand using the enzyme reverse transcriptase.
Steps in virus replications

• 1- Adsorption (attachment).
• 2- Penetration.
• 3- uncoating.
• 4- Replication of the viral genome.
• 5- Transcription of the viral genome into m-RNA.
• 6- Translation of m-RNA into viral proteins.
• 7- protein synthesis,
• 8- Viral assembly.
Steps in virus replication

1-Adsorption (attachment ).

Viruses must recognize and bind to specific

cellular receptors on the surface of the
infected cell via particular glycoproteins.
Steps in virus replication

• 2--Penetration.
A- Enveloped viruses that has the ability to
form syncytia ( multi-nucleated giant cell )
enter the cell through fusion of the viral
envelope with cell plasma membrane( eg.
Paramyo and herpes viruses ).
2- The remaining enveloped viruses enter the
cell through endocytosis.
Entry of enveloped viruses, fusion of the viral envelope.
Steps in virus replication

• B- Unenveloped viruses enter the cell either

by endocytosis ( endosome lyses as with
adenoviruses) or by forming a pore in the
membrane of the cell. The viral RNA is then
released inside the cell (picornaviruses).
Endocytosis

• Endocytosis involves invagination of the cell

membrane to form vesicles in the cell cytoplasm.
• Infected viruses are then engulfed inside these
vesicles.
• Each vesicle fuses with a lysosome to form
lysosomal vesicle.
• The viral envelope fuses with lysosomal
membrane and the viral nucleocapsid is expelled
into the cytoplasm.
Endocytosis.
Steps in virus replication

• 3- Uncoating.
Release of the viral genome from its protective capsid
to enable the viral nucleic acid to replicate.

• 4- Transcription. Synthesis of m-RNA.

• 5-Translation. The viral genome is translated using cell

ribosomes into structural and non-structural proteins.
Steps in viral replication

• 6- Replication of the viral nucleic acid.

• 7-Assembly. New virus genomes and proteins

are assembled to form new virus particles.

• 8-Release. Enveloped viruses are released by

budding from the infected cells. Unenveloped
viruses are released by rupture of the infected
cells.
Release of enveloped viruses by budding