Shanes notes on Microbiology II semester B. Sc.

, Biotechnology

CONCEPT ON VIRUSES

Viruses form a very important group of obligate intracellular living organisms, the structure
of which can only be studied under electron microscope. Diseases such as polio, mumps,
rabies, herpes, chicken pox, small pox, dengue fever, hepatitis B, etc. are all caused by one
or the other type of virus. The life threatening very serious disease AIDS with almost 100%
fatality rate is also caused by a virus. There are many viruses, which may cause even the host
cell to multiply causing tumours or cancers.
Virus is a Latin word meaning ‘poison’ or ‘venom’. It was generally believed that the ‘viruses’
or poisons were carried in the night air and cause many unexplained diseases. Tobacco
mosaic disease (TMD) occurring in tobacco plants. In 1892, a Russian biologist Iwanowski was
the first one to find out that the causative agent of TMD was a filterable tobacco mosiac virus
(TMV) which could be transmitted from an infected organism to a healthy organism of the
same kind. After this, scores of viral diseases of plants were known. In 1898, Beijerinick, a
Dutch microbiologist, confirmed the work of Iwanowski and described the cause of infection
in tobacco plant as ‘Contagium Vivum Fluidum’, Latin words, meaning ‘living fluid infectants’
or ‘living infectious fluid’.
Nature of Viruses

The viruses deserve special consideration in our survey of distinctions between living and
non-living matter because they show characteristics of both.

Characteristics of Viruses

Viruses exhibit several unique characteristics:

1. Size: They are extremely small, typically ranging from 20 to 300 nanometers.
2. Host Specificity: Viruses are highly specific to their host species and often to
particular cell types within that species.
3. No Cellular Machinery: They lack organelles and cannot carry out metabolic
processes on their own.
4. Obligate Intracellular Parasites: Viruses can only replicate by infecting a living host
cell.

Non-living Characters

i) Viruses do not have a cellular organisation.

i) They reproduce only in living cells.

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iii) They undergo mutations of their genes and as in living; they also have the ability to
undergo changes in hereditary characters.
iv) They can adapt themselves to their environment through natural selection.
Definition of Viruses

Viruses may be defined as extremely small obligate intracellular living forms containing only
one type of nucleic acid either DNA or RNA. Earlier they were called ‘ultramicroscopic viruses’
because they could not be seen with light microscope. They were also called ‘Filterable
Viruses’, since they pass through very fine filters which hold the bacteria back. Now they are
simply called ‘viruses’. A mature virus particle is called ‘virion’.
Morphology of Viruses

All viruses are extremely small and cannot be seen with a compound microscope. Viruses are
measured in millimicrons (mµ, one millimicron is 1000th of a micron) and vary considerably
in size. The size ranges from 15 mµ to 450 mµ. The smallest virus is of a foot and mouth disease
of cattle (15 mµ) and the largest virus is of a parrot fever (450 mµ). In humans, the smallest
virus is of yellow fever (20 mµ) and the largest virus is pox virus (400 mµ).
Viruses, like other microorganisms, vary in shape. The shape remains constant for any
particular kind of virus but varies from one type of virus to another. These may be spherical,
rod shaped, cuboidal, rhomboidal (multisided), needle shaped etc. Rabies virus is bullet
shaped, TMV is rod shaped, polio virus is spherical, pox virus is rectangular or brick shaped.
Some viruses are irregular in shape. Bacteriophages have head and tail.

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Figure 1: Morphology (Size and Shape of various viruses)

Structure

Viruses have a relatively simple structure as compared to other living things. Virus particle is
called virion, which consists of two parts viz. the central core or nucleic acid core and protein
coat.
The Central Core or Nucleic Acid Core:

It may be either ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxy ribo-nucleic acid (DNA). Plant viruses
contain RNA while animal viruses have DNA or RNA. The two together are never found in a
virus.
The Protein Coat:

The protein coat covers the central core and is called capsid. The capsid itself is formed of a
number of subunits known as capsomeres. Some viruses are surrounded by an envelope
which is lipoprotein in nature as seen in herpes virus, pox virus, rabies virus etc.

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Envelope may have protein subunits, projecting on its surface which are called peplomeres.
A virus may have more than one type of peplomere as in Influenza virus which contain two
types of peplomeres. If there is no envelope surrounding the virion, it is called as naked
virion.

Figure 2: various criteria for classification of viruses

Figure 3: Classification based on genetic material DNA

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Figure 4: Classification based on genetic material RNA

Figure 5: Baltimore classfication of viruses

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Replication of Viruses

Viral replication is a multi-step process that occurs only within a suitable host cell. The general
stages are:

1. Attachment: The virus binds to specific receptors on the surface of the host cell.
2. Penetration: The virus or its genetic material enters the host cell.
3. Uncoating: The viral capsid is removed, releasing the nucleic acid.
4. Replication and Transcription: The host cell machinery is hijacked to replicate the
viral genome and synthesize viral proteins.
5. Assembly: New viral particles are assembled from the replicated nucleic acids and
proteins.
6. Release: New virions are released from the host cell, often destroying it in the process,
to infect other cells.

Figure 6: Viral replication stages.

Different viruses use slightly different methods of replication, especially DNA vs. RNA viruses,
or retroviruses like HIV, which use reverse transcription.

Virus "Life" Cycles

For the release of new viral particles, any of a number of processes may occur. For example,
the host cell may be “biochemically exhausted,” and it may disintegrate, thereby releasing
the virions. For enveloped viruses, the nucleocapsids move toward the membrane of the host

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cell, where they force themselves through that membrane in a process called budding.
During budding, a portion of cell membrane pinches off and surrounds the nucleocapsid as
an envelope. The replication process in which the host cell experiences death is called the
lytic cycle of reproduction. The viruses so produced are free to infect and replicate in other
host cells in the area.
Lysogeny

Not all viruses multiply by the lytic cycle of reproduction. Certain viruses remain active within
their host cells for a long period without replicating. This cycle is called the lysogenic cycle.
The viruses are called temperate viruses, or proviruses, because they do not bring death to
the host cell immediately. In lysogeny, the temperate virus exists in a latent form within the
host cell and is usually integrated into the chromosome. Bacteriophages that remain latent
within their bacterial host cell are called prophages. This process is a key element in the
recombination process known as transduction. An example of lysogeny occurs in HIV
infection. In this case, the human immunodeficiency virus remains latent within the host T-
lymphocyte. An individual whose infection is at this stage will not experience the symptoms
of AIDS until a later date.

Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)

Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) is a plant virus that infects a wide range of plants, especially
tobacco and other members of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). It was the first virus ever
discovered and studied, making it a landmark in the history of virology. TMV has been widely
researched for its unique structure, mode of infection, and role in understanding the basic
principles of molecular biology and virology.

Structure of TMV

The Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) has a simple yet highly organized structure that makes it
one of the most studied viruses in the world. It is a rigid, rod-shaped virus measuring about
300 nanometers in length and 18 nanometers in diameter. TMV exhibits helical symmetry,
meaning its components are arranged in a spiral pattern. The virus is composed mainly of a
single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) genome and a protective protein coat known as the capsid. The
RNA is of positive-sense, which means it can act directly as messenger RNA (mRNA) for
protein synthesis in the host cell. This RNA strand, about 6,400 nucleotides long, is tightly
coiled and runs through the center of the virus.

Surrounding the RNA is a capsid made up of 2,130 identical protein subunits called
capsomeres. Each of these subunits binds to three nucleotides of the RNA and is arranged
helically around the RNA strand, forming a rigid cylindrical tube. This arrangement leaves a
central hollow channel, about 4 nanometers in diameter, running through the core of the virus.
TMV lacks a lipid envelope, which contributes to its remarkable stability—it can remain
infectious in dried plant material for many years.

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Figure 7: structure and dimensions of Tabacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)

Characteristics of TMV

 Host Range: TMV primarily infects tobacco plants but can also infect other plants such
as tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
 Stability: TMV is extremely stable and can remain infectious in dried plant material
for years.
 Symptoms: Infected plants show mottled or mosaic patterns on leaves, stunted
growth, leaf curling, and reduced yield. These symptoms result from the virus
interfering with chlorophyll production.
 Transmission: TMV spreads mainly through mechanical means—such as handling of
infected plants, contaminated tools, or leaf-to-leaf contact—not by insects or vectors.

Replication of TMV

TMV replicates by entering plant cells and hijacking their machinery:

1. Entry: The virus enters plant cells through wounds or abrasions in the plant tissue.
2. Uncoating: The viral RNA is released into the cytoplasm.
3. Translation and Replication: The viral RNA acts as mRNA and is directly translated
by the host’s ribosomes to produce viral proteins. Simultaneously, the RNA is copied
to create new viral genomes.
4. Assembly: New capsid proteins surround the replicated RNA strands, forming new
TMV particles.
5. Spread: The virus moves from cell to cell through plasmodesmata (tiny channels
between plant cells) and spreads throughout the plant.

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Importance of TMV in Science

TMV was the first virus ever discovered, by Dmitri Ivanovsky in 1892 and later studied in
detail by Martinus Beijerinck, who coined the term “virus.” It was also the first virus to be
crystallized by Wendell Stanley in 1935, proving that viruses could be studied like chemicals.
TMV played a key role in early research on RNA, protein structure, and virus assembly,
contributing greatly to molecular biology.

Bacteriophage
Morphology of Bacteriophage

The viruses that infect bacteria are called ‘bacteriophages’ or ‘phages’. They are so named
because they destroy bacteria (phage, i.e. eat). They are usually present in polluted waters,
soils, decaying plants and in the discharges (urine/faeces) of humans and other animals. They
are frequently found in old cultures of bacteria. Bacteriophages differ from other viruses only
in their choice of host cells.
Structure

Bacteriophage has two distinct parts, namely, hexagonal head and a cylindrical tail. The head
in its central portion contains DNA surrounded by a protein coat or capsid. The tail consists of
a hollow tube surrounded by a contractile sheath. The tail at its base has a base plate which is
connected with six long thin tail fibres. The most extensively studied group of bacteriophage
is T series that invade the non-motile strain of Eschierichia coli. T series bacteriophages are of
fairly large size and easy to culture and purify.

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Types
Lytic or Virulent Type: These are the bacteriophages in which the infection is apparent. They
infect the host cells and the DNA of the host cell produces large number of new phages. The
host cell bursts releasing new phages to infect the new host cells.
Temperate or Avirulent Type: These are also called as lysogenic bacteriophages. These are
the bacteriophages in which the infection is not apparent. They do not infect the host cells.
These simply persist indefinitely in the host cells in a quiescent state.

Bacteriophage T4

Bacteriophage T4 is a complex, double-stranded DNA virus that infects Escherichia coli (E.
coli) and has one of the most intricate structures among known viruses. It looks like something
from a bad alien movie — with a head, tail, and six spindly legs. Its structure is composed of
three main parts: the icosahedral head (capsid), the tail, and the tail fibers. The head is
about 90 nanometers long and 75 nanometers wide and contains linear double-stranded DNA,
which is tightly packed under high pressure. The tail is a long, contractile sheath around a
central tube. At the base of the tail is a hexagonal baseplate, which is connected to six tail
fibers and short spikes used for host recognition and attachment. Upon contact with the
bacterial surface, the tail sheath contracts like a spring, driving the central tube through the
host’s cell wall to inject the viral DNA. It’s basically a molecular syringe. T4’s complex design
reflects its efficient infection process and has made it a classic model for studying viral
replication and assembly.

Figure 8: Structure of T4 bacteriophage which infect E. coli.

Structure of Bacteriophage Lambda

Lambda phage is another virus that infects E. coli, but unlike T4, it has a non-contractile tail
and a more compact design. Its head is icosahedral, about 55 nanometers in diameter, and
contains a linear double-stranded DNA molecule, roughly 48,500 base pairs long. The head
is connected to a long, flexible tail, about 150 nanometers in length, which lacks the
contractile sheath found in T4. The tail ends in a tail tip structure with specialized terminal

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fibers, which help the phage recognize and bind to specific receptors on the E. coli surface.
Once attached, the DNA is injected into the host, but unlike T4 (which immediately hijacks the
cell and destroys it), lambda can choose between two lifestyles: lytic (destroy the host) or
lysogenic (peacefully integrate into the host genome and hang out for a while). Structurally,
it's simpler than T4, but it compensates with its ability to make life decisions like it’s got a
therapist.

Figure 9: Structure of lambda phage

The virus must first attach itself to the host cell. This is usually accomplished through special
glycoprotiens on the exterior of the capsid, envelope or tail. Next, penetration occurs, either
of the whole virus or just the contents of the capsid. If the entire capsid enters, the genetic
material must be uncoated to make it available to the cell's replication machinery. Replication
of genetic material takes place, as well as the production of capsid and tail proteins. Once all
of the necessary parts have been replicated, individual virus particles are assembled and
released. Release often takes place in a destructive manner, bursting and killing the host cell.
Some viruses have a slightly more complicated replication cycle involving lytic and lysogenic
phases. The lytic phase is similar to that described above, with virus particles infecting and
being replicated. In the lysogenic phase, however, viral genetic material that has entered the
host cell becomes incorportated in the cell and lies dormant. It is passed on to the progeny of
the infected cells. Eventually, the lytic phase will start again, and cells that were never
infected themselves, but carry the viral genetic material will begin to produce new virus
particles.

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Figure 10: Lytic and Lysogenic cycle of Bacteriophage

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