Wolaita Sodo University

College of Natural and Computational Science

Department of Biology
Title: Virology
Course Code: Biol 3062
Credit hour: 1(theoretical class/week)
Course Category: Biology Compulsory
Pre-request: None
1. Course Description
Viruses are causative agents of diseases in plants and animals. They
are also means of gene transfer across bacteria. Thus, the course
Virology is designed for a biologist to provide basic knowledge of
their genomic organization and their importance in human, animal
and plant health.

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The course deals with general characteristics, structure,
classification and replication of viruses; viral diseases and
pathogenesis related to humans, domestic animals and plants;
effects on host cell metabolism; techniques in virology; use of
viruses for medical research and biotechnology; current issues
on HIV/AIDS and vaccine development

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Course Objectives
After the completion of the course students will be able to:
Describe the nature and organization of viruses
Enumerate the different groups of viruses.
Describe important disease causing viruses of man, domestic animals,
and plants.
Explain the ecology, habitat, lifecycle, taxonomy and control
measures of viruses.
Explain virus-host interactions
Discuss the epidemiological factors that contribute to disease
transmission
Demonstrate understanding of the importance of host immune
response to virus infection

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1. Introduction to virology
• Definition and scope of virology
• History of Virology
• Position of viruses in the living world
2. Diversity, shapes, sizes and components of genomes. Isolation and
purification of viruses and components
3. Classification of viruses and nomenclatures
[Link] according to physical and chemical properties
3.2. +strand RNA viruses:
[Link].
[Link]- West Nile virus and Dengue virus
[Link]: SARS, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pathogenesis
3.3. –ve strand RNA viruses: Paramyxoviruses Orthomyxoviruses:
Influenza pathogenesis and Bird flu. Rhabdoviruses: Rabies
pathogenesis.
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3.4. dsRNA viruses-

3.4.1. Reoviruses

[Link]: structure, classification, life cycle; reverse transcription.

[Link]: HIV, viral pathogenesis and AIDS

4. Infection and replication

[Link] of selectivity for specific host cell uptake of virus and entry into the cell
interior Strategies for replication according to the type of nucleic acid

5. Strategies for replication according to the type of nucleic acid

expression of viral genes & synthesis of new viral particles

6. Epidemiology, pathology, treatment and prevention of viral disease: paradigms

of human, animal & plant viruses

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7. The role of viruses in Recombinant DNA technology and
vaccine development:

7.1. Use of bacteriophages in gene cloning

7.2. Non-replicating viruses as vectors in gene therapy and for

development of new types of vaccine.

7.3. Use of viruses to produce recombinant proteins in animals and

Plants

[Link] Agents and Gene Therapy:

[Link] Vaccines and Chemotherapy

[Link] Vectors and Gene Therapy

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8. Emerging and re-emerging viruses & future trends HIV,
8.1. Bird or Avian virus,
[Link] virus,
[Link] Virus : SARS, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), West Nile
virus and Dengue virus
Reference Materials:
Cann A. J. (2005). Principles of Molecular Virology. (4th ed.),
Academic Press, Amsterdam.
• Carter, J.B., Saunders, V.A. (2007). Virology: Principles and
Applications. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., Chichester.
• Flint,S. J., Racaniello, V.R., Enquist L. W., Rancaniello, V. R.,
Skalka ,A. M.(2003). Principles of Virology: Molecular Biology,
Pathogenesis, and Control of Animal Viruses. Microbiology.
American Society

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Chapter 1: Introduction to virology

Virology is the study of viruses, how they replicate, transmit and

cause disease. The discipline of virology studies viruses, infectious
agents unique in their simple, acellular organization and pattern of
multiplication.

The field of virology encompasses viral discovery, the study of

virus structure and reproduction, and the importance of viruses in
biology and disease.

Virology is a fascinating and rapidly developing subject which has

had a remarkable history. When studied carefully, virtually all living
organisms, have viral parasites.
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Viruses are the smallest and simplest forms of life on Earth. Despite
this simplicity, viruses are major causes of disease. In 2020, the entire
world learned about the impact viruses can have on human health as
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, reached pandemic
proportions.

The medical consequences of viral infections of humans have the power

to alter our history and have resulted in extraordinary efforts on the part
of virologists to study, understand, and eradicate these agents.

The study of viruses has historically provided and continues to provide

the basis for much of our most fundamental understanding of modern
biology, genetics, and medicine.
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They served as models for understanding DNA replication, RNA
synthesis, and protein synthesis. For more than four decades, viral
studies have been thoroughly intertwined with those of genetics
and molecular biology and it has contributed significantly to the
discipline of molecular biology and genetics.

Figure 1 Impact of virology on different

fields

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History of Virology

How long ago did human viruses first appear on Earth? Although human
beings are believed to have originated about 34 million years ago, the
oldest record of virus in history was found only 4000 years ago in
ancient Egypt (Figure 2). The victim of poliovirus was inscribed in a
stele. Additionally, evidence of smallpox was found in Egyptian
mummies.

The influence of viral diseases on human history and culture would be

hard to overstate. For instance, it is believed that the collapse of Aztec
cultures in South America can be attributed to smallpox and measles
that were brought by European explorers.
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Figure 2 The historical record of
virus. The oldest record of a
virus was found in a stele from
13th-century BC Egypt. A Priest
standing with a stick is believed
to be a victim of paralytic
poliomyelitis.

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More people died of influenza in the global epidemic of 1918 than
in the battles of World War I. Poliovirus is famous for causing
the out-breaks of poliomyelitis that swept the United States during
the first half of the twentieth century.

The current pandemic COVID-19 is a good witness that takes

lives of millions and becomes health, economic, social and
cultural problem.

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Discovery of Virus in Plants and Animals
By the end of 19th century, during a time when all the transmissible
agents were believed to be microbes, the existence of transmissible agents,
which were smaller than a microbe, had begun to be perceived.

In 1892, Dimitri Ivanowski, a Russian scientist, reported an unexpected

observation during his study on the Tobacco mosaic disease of a
plant(Figure 3).

He found that the filtrates of the transmissible agent caused the disease.
He modestly stated that “according to my experiments, the filtered extract
introduced into healthy plants produces the symptoms of the disease just as
surely as does the unfiltered sap.”

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In the year 1898, Martinus Beijerinck, a Dutch scientist, independently
made similar observations in his studies on Tobacco mosaic disease of a
plant. Further, he speculated that the pathogen exists only in living
tissues. He named the new pathogen virus to highlight its nonbacterial
nature.
Importantly, he articulated two experimental definitions of viruses as the
following: the ability to pass through a porcelain filter, and the need
for living cells to grow.

Subsequently, a similar observation was made of an animal virus as well.

Loeffler and Frosch, German scientists, found a filterable agent in their
studies on foot-and-mouth disease in cows in 1897.

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Figure 3 The photos of two pioneers, who discovered ‘virus’ as a filterable agent.
(A)Dimitri Ivanowski (1864-1920), a Russian botanist, the first man to discover virus
in 1892 and thus one of the founders of virology.
In 1898, Martinus Beijerinck (1851-1931), independently reproduced Ivanowski’s
filtration experiments and then showed that the infectious agent was able to reproduce
and multiply in the host cells of the tobacco plant (below).
(B) A photo that captured Martinus Beijerinck in his laboratory in 1921. Martinus
Beijerinck coined “virus” to articulate the nonbacterial nature of the causal agent of
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Tobacco mosaic disease.
Figure 4 Tobacco Mosaic Disease and Its Virus. (A) An infected
tobacco leaf exhibiting the mottled or mosaic appearance caused by
the disease. (B) This false-color transmission electron micrograph of
TMV shows the rod-shaped structure of the virus particles. (Bar = 80
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nm).
Figure 5 Inquiry, what causes tobacco
mosaic disease?

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Figure 6 Mass burning of cattle carcasses during the 2001 foot-and-
mouth disease outbreak in the United Kingdom.

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The crystallization of tobacco mosaic virus challenged conventional
notions about genes and the nature of living organisms

Wendell Stanley found in the mid-1930s that highly purified tobacco mosaic
virus could form crystals. This discovery shook the scientific world, because
it placed viruses at the edge between living organisms and simple chemical
compounds like sodium chloride.

It posed the question: Are viruses living or inanimate? We now know that
viruses are inanimate when their genomes are packaged in virions, but they
share many attributes of life, including the ability to mutate, evolve, and
reproduce themselves, when they enter cells that can support their
replication.

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Studies by Stanley and others showed that viruses contain both
protein and nucleic acids.

The development of the electron microscope in the late 1930s

allowed scientists for the first time to actually see viruses—
tobacco mosaic virus (a long rod-shaped virus), bacteriophages
with their polygonal heads and tubular tails, and vaccinia virus,
one of the largest animal viruses.

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Discovery of the Human Viruses

Many human pathogenic microbes had been discovered

since 1884, when Koch’s postulates for identification of
the agent responsible for a specific disease prevailed.

Many attempts were made to search for the cause of

scourges that considerably threatened human life,
including yellow fever, rabies, and poliomyelitis.

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Yellow fever was one whose etiology was uncovered first
among the human pathogenic viruses.

Walter Reed, was able to demonstrate that an inoculum

from an infected individual can infect healthy volunteers
even after filtration. It was the moment of discovery of the
yellow fever virus (YFV) in 1902—the first human virus
ever isolated.

A year after the discovery of YFV, an etiologic agent for

rabies was discovered. Rabies spread in the 1880s in Europe
as dogs became a popular pet animal. 23
Louis Pasteur had earlier used rabbits for transmission of rabies for
the development of rabies vaccine. However, Louis Pasteur failed to
isolate and cultivate a rabies microbe in a media, in which bacterium
are expected to grow.

Almost two decades later in 1903, Paul Remlinger demonstrated that

the filtrates of rabies inoculum transmit the disease to animals.

Thus, rabies virus, a filterable agent that causes rabies in animals, was
discovered.

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 Overall, during the first decade of the 20th century, the etiological
agents of three major viral scourges, YFV, rabies virus, and
poliovirus, were discovered (Figure 8).

Figure 7 The history of virology can be divided into different eras.

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Figure 8 Chronicle of the major discoveries in virus research. Small pox
vaccine and rabies vaccine were developed even prior to the discovery of
virus by Ivanowski in 1892, as demarcated by a separate arrow bar. In the
first decade of the 20th century, three human viruses (YFV, Rabies virus,
and Poliovirus) were discovered. YFV, yellow fever virus; HPV, human
papillomavirus.
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Table 1 Some Milestones in the History of Virology

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28
TABLE 1 Some Milestones in the History of Virology (continued)

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Why We Study Viruses?

Glimpse of importance of studying viruses

The global community is facing an enduring problem due to the

emergence of viral diseases(COVID-19). Eg. Health sector is one
of the most stricken sector by this pandemic viral diseases. In
addition to death toll, this newly emerged virus has an impact on the
economy, tourism, social interaction, politics, education, religion,
labor, entertainment, sport, markets, hotels, transportation and
human freedom and in general the emergence of COVID-19
disrupts these and other social functions. Therefore, from this point
of view any layman person can guess the importance of studying
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1. Viruses are important disease-causing agents

As living organisms arose and evolved during the past 4 billion years
on Earth, they were probably always accompanied by viruses that
could replicate within cells and pass from cell to cell. Some of these
viruses interfere with normal cellular processes and cause disease.

As mentioned previously, the current pandemic (COVID-19) is a

good example that supports this notion. Generally, some of the most
feared, widespread, and devastating human diseases are caused by
viruses. These include smallpox, influenza, poliomyelitis, yellow
fever, measles, and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome). 34
 Viruses are responsible for many cases of human encephalitis,
meningitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, and cervical cancer, as well as
warts and the common cold. Viruses causing respiratory
infections, gastroenteritis, and diarrhea in young children lead to
millions of deaths each year in less-developed countries.

2. Viruses can infect all forms of life

Viruses also infect animals, plants, and insects of importance to

humans. Outbreaks of virus diseases in domesticated animals can
lead to destruction of thousands or millions of animals to avoid
even more widespread epidemics.

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Viral infection of agricultural plants and animals can have
enormous economic and societal impact. Outbreaks of infection by
foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza viruses have led to
the destruction ( culling ) of millions of cattle, sheep, and poultry
to prevent further spread. As shown previously losses in the United
Kingdom during the 2001 outbreak of foot-and mouth disease ran
into billions of dollars and caused devastation for both farmers and
the government.

Virus diseases affecting domestic plants such as potatoes,

tomatoes, tobacco, coconut trees, and citrus trees are common
and widespread.
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 Insect viruses that kill silkworms, used for centuries in Asia and
Europe to produce silk, have plagued that industry over the ages.
Viruses can also infect and kill bacteria, archaea, algae, fungi, and
protozoa.

3. Viruses Can Be Beneficial

Although it has detrimental impact on human and agriculture, it is

important to realize that viruses can also be beneficial.

Such benefit can be seen most clearly in marine ecology, where virus
particles are the most abundant biological entities. Indeed, they
comprise 94% of all nucleic acid-containing particles in the oceans
and are 15 times more abundant than the Bacteria and Archaea . 37
 Viral infections in the ocean kill 20 to 40% of marine microbes

daily, converting these living organisms into particulate matter,

and release essential nutrients that supply phytoplankton at the

bottom of the ocean’s food chain, as well as carbon dioxide and

other gases that affect the climate of the earth.

4. Viruses Can Cross Species Boundaries

Although viruses generally have a limited host range, they can and

do spread across species barriers.

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As the world’s human population continues to expand and impinge on

the wilderness, cross-species ( zoonotic ) infections of humans are

occurring with increasing frequency.

The highly fatal Ebola hemorrhagic fever and the severe acute

respiratory syndrome (SARS) are recent examples of viral diseases

to emerge from zoonotic infections.

The current pandemic of influenza virus H5N1 in avian species has

much of the world riveted by the frightening possibility that a new,

highly pathogenic strain might emerge following transmission from

birds to human hosts.

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5. Viruses Are Unique Tools To Study Biology

Much of the basic knowledge of molecular biology, cell biology

and cancer has been derived from studies with viruses.

Because viruses are dependent on their hosts for propagation,

studies that focus on viral reprogramming of cellular mechanisms
have provided unique insights into cellular biology and functioning
of host defenses.

Groundbreaking studies of viruses that infect bacteria, the

bacteriophages, laid the foundations of modern molecular biology,
and crystallization of the plant virus tobacco mosaic virus was a
landmark in structural biology. 40
Studies of animal viruses established many fundamental
principles of cellular function, including the presence of
intervening sequences in eukaryotic genes.

The study of cancer (transforming) viruses revealed the

genetic basis of this disease. It seems clear that studies of
viruses will continue to open up such paths of discovery in
the future.
Given this track record, the study of viruses will undoubtedly
continue to shed light on many important aspects of cell and
molecular biology.
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With the development of recombinant DNA technology and our
increased understanding of some viral systems, it has become
possible to use viral genomes as vehicles for the delivery of genes
to cells and organisms for both scientific and therapeutic purposes.

The use of viral vectors to introduce genes into various cells and
organisms to study their function has become a standard method in
biology.

Viral vectors are also being used to treat human disease via “gene
therapy,” in which functional genes delivered by viral vectors
compensate for faulty genes in the host cells.

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Summary on importance of studying viruses
Some viruses are studied because they have useful current or
potential applications.

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Phage typing of bacteria. Some groups of bacteria, such as some
Salmonella species, are classified into strains on the basis of the
spectrum of phages to which they are susceptible.

Identification of the phage types of bacterial isolates can provide

useful epidemiological information during outbreaks of disease
caused by these bacteria.

Sources of enzymes. A number of enzymes used in molecular

biology are virus enzymes. Examples include reverse transcriptases
from retroviruses and RNA polymerases from phages.

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Pesticides. Some insect pests are controlled with baculoviruses and

myxoma virus has been used to control rabbits.

Anti-bacterial agents. In the mid-20th century phages were used to treat

some bacterial infections of humans. Interest waned with the discovery

of antibiotics, but has been renewed with the emergence of antibiotic-

resistant strains of bacteria.

Anti-cancer agents. Genetically modified strains of viruses, such as

herpes simplex virus and vaccinia virus, are being investigated for

treatment of cancers. These strains have been modified so that they are

able to infect and destroy specific tumour cells, but are unable to infect

normal cells. 45
Gene vectors for protein production. Viruses such as certain

baculoviruses and adenoviruses are used as vectors to take genes into

animal cells growing in culture. This technology can be used to insert

into cells genes encoding useful proteins, such as vaccine components,

and the cells can then be used for mass production of the proteins.

Gene vectors for treatment of genetic diseases. Children with severe

combined immunodeficiency (baby in the bubble syndrome) have been

successfully treated using retroviruses as vectors to introduce into their

stem cells a non-mutated copy of the mutated gene responsible for the

disease .
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Position of viruses in the living world

It may seem bizarre that virology is a subset of biology—the study

of life—because viruses are not considered to be alive. They are,
however, intricately tied to the web of life here on Earth.

Many scientists consider viruses to be on the border of living and

nonliving. That is, although they share some properties with living
organisms, viruses are missing several important
characteristics:

[Link] cannot reproduce independently, only within a host cell

2. they are not made up of cells

3. they do not grow, develop, or generate metabolic energy. 47

However, they use the same forms of genetic information storage
and transmission as do cellular organisms.

Viruses infect all cellular forms of life—bacteria, archaea, and

eukaryotes. Not all pathogens are cellular. Many infections of
humans, animals, and plants (and even of bacteria) are caused by
acellular (noncellular) agents, including viruses and other
pathogenic particles called viroids and prions.

They replicate, mutate, evolve, and interact with other organisms,

often causing serious diseases in their hosts. Finally, viruses
clearly evolve independently of other organisms, so it is almost
impossible not to treat them as a part of life.
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In short, viruses cannot be defined as being alive at the cellular
level, but they do share enough characteristics with organisms that
they cannot be defined as nonliving, either.

Although these agents are similar to eukaryotic and prokaryotic

pathogens in that they cause disease when they invade susceptible
cells, they are simple compared to a cell—lacking cell membranes
and composed of only a few organic molecules.

In addition to lacking a cellular structure, they lack most of the

characteristics of life: In order to understand why viruses are not
alive, we must revisit the characteristics of living things.

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 Are viruses living or nonliving?

In order to understand why viruses are not alive, we must revisit the
characteristics of living things.

Figure 9 Criteria in which an organism must satisfy to be considered alive

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There is no question that viruses share some of these characteristics.

1. Every virus has genetic material, or a genome, although viruses are a

bit different because, unlike living organisms that only have DNA
genomes, viruses can have genomes composed of DNA or RNA,
depending upon the virus.

Many viruses also have high mutation rates that lead to the evolution
of the virus.

For instance, if a person with HIV is treated with one antiviral drug, the
virus quickly evolves into a strain that is no longer affected by the drug.

The influenza virus continuously acquires small mutations, which is

why the flu vaccine you received last year may not protect you from this
year’s flu.
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 The influenza virus continuously acquires small mutations, which
is why the flu vaccine you received last year may not protect you
from this year’s flu. In fact, because viruses mutate so quickly, they
function as a great model for studying and observing evolutionary
change, which takes much longer in living organisms.

2. Viruses do not engage in their own metabolic activities.

Viruses are unable to perform metabolic reactions while outside a

cell. In essence, they are inert particles that do not have the ability
to generate their own energy. They use the cell’s energy and
machinery to synthesize new virus particles.
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2. The other characteristic of living things: is that the ability to
reproduce independently. To reproduce, a cell makes a copy
of its DNA, expands in size, and divides the DNA and cell in
two.
This is known as binary fission in prokaryotes and mitosis
in eukaryotes. Viruses, however, do not reproduce in this
way. When a virus particle enters the cell, it completely
disassembles.
All cells of living organisms arise from the growth and
division of a previously existing cell, but viruses do not share
this characteristic with living organisms.
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The viral nucleic acid encodes the instructions, and the cell’s
machinery will be used to make new infectious virus particles
(virions).

The replication cycle of viruses functions in the same way that a

manufacturing factory (the cell) receives a package with
instructions (the virus) on how to mass produce a new product,
entirely from scratch, that is then shipped to other locations after
manufacturing.

All cells of living organisms arise from the growth and division
of a previously existing cell, and viruses do not reproduce in this
manner.
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Figure 10 Cell division versus viral replication. (A) Eukaryotic cells make a copy of
their genetic information and divide into two cells through the process of mitosis. All cells
arise from the growth and division of previously existing cells. (B) Viruses, on the other
hand, attach to cells and disassemble within the cell. New virions are assembled from newly
made components and are released from the cell. 55
3. Homeostasis is a steady internal condition that is exhibited by
living organisms. Living organisms have mechanisms to
regulate internal highs and lows to maintain homeostasis, but
viruses do not. As inert particles, they are unable to compensate
for changes in their external environment.
 Despite not being alive, viruses still share many similarities
with living organisms.
They are composed of the same biological substances, such as
nucleic acids or amino acids
their proteins are translated by ribosomes much in the same way
as living organisms.
They play a role in the cycling of energy and matter within
ecosystems, and some can quickly evolve, as described above.
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 Within the cell, viruses are far from inert: although they use the
cell’s energy, raw materials, and organelles, their nucleic acid
genome encodes the instructions to assemble new infectious
virions that are able to carry on the “life cycle” of a virus.

The origin of viruses

The question of the origin of viruses is a fascinating topic. Where

did viruses come from? How do they fit into the tree of life?
Biologists are still working to answer these questions. The
question of how viruses arose is a difficult and much debated
issue.

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 It is generally accepted that viruses appeared around the same time
that life began, and when new information is discovered concerning
the origin of life, the hypotheses about the origin of viruses are also
revisited.
 Based on the evidence that we currently have, there are three viable
models of how viruses originated that each have their strengths and
limitations:
1. The Pre-cellular Hypothesis, also known as the “virus-first
hypothesis”
proposes that viruses existed before or alongside cells (co-
evolution) and possibly contributed to the development of life as
we know it. This hypothesis states that both cells and viruses
evolved alongside each other.
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 The pre-cellular (or virus-first) hypothesis
proposes that viruses initially developed before or
alongside cells in an RNA-based world (A).

A variation of this hypothesis (B) proposes

that RNA viruses evolved into DNA
viruses that infected RNA cells, which
eventually gained a DNA genome by using
the viral DNA or viral DNA-generating
mechanisms.

Figure 11 Variations of the virus-first hypothesis.

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 (C) A related version speculates that the three
Domains of life (Bacteria, Archaea, and
Eukarya) may have arisen from infection of cells
with three distinct DNA viruses.

Taking this one step further, it has been

suggested that the three domains of life—
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya—each arose
independently from the infection of cells with
three distinct DNA viruses

Figure 11 Variations of the virus-first hypothesis ….continued.

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Critics of this hypothesis

All viruses require a host cell in order to replicate, so is it plausible

that viruses once existed before host cells?

Being that viruses are the ultimate examples of parasitism, it is more

compatible that viruses developed alongside primitive cells, rather
than as precursors of them.

It is unlikely that viruses could have existed before cells because they
would not have had a reliable source of the materials they need to
replicate.

In addition, the majority of viral genes are not found in cells, and
one should expect to see more similarities between cells and viruses
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if a DNA virus were the origin of a cell’s genetic material.
Similarly, the viruses infecting cells of all three domains share
similar protein shapes that are not represented in the living
organisms within each domain. Critics of this model argue that
these virus-specific protein folds should be observable in some of
these living organisms if viruses were the origins of cells.

The other two hypotheses for the origin of viruses presume that
cells existed before viruses.

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2. The escape hypothesis-----This hypothesis proposes that viruses are pieces
of cells that broke away at one point in time (they “escaped” from the cell)
and gained the ability to travel from cell to cell. By extension, the viruses of
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya may have arisen from distinct escape
events within those three domains

It suggests that mobile elements such as retrotransposons obtained genes

encoding capsid proteins and enzymes were able to escape from their
original cellular environment and move to, and replicate in, other cells. The
Escape Hypothesis gained popularity when transposable elements were
discovered.

Transposable elements, or transposons, are pieces of DNA that can

physically move from one location to another in the genome of a living
organism.
Some are only a few hundred nucleotides long, whereas others span
thousands of nucleotides. Initially they thought to be “junk DNA”
with no apparent function, these transposable elements make up
nearly half of the human genome, although many are no longer
functional.
Some of these transposable elements have similarity to retroviruses,
such as HIV, that incorporate into the host’s DNA after entering a
cell. Supporters of the escape hypothesis point out that retroviruses
may have originated from the escape of these transposable elements
from the cell.

64
Many retrovirus genomes are also found permanently integrated
into cellular genomes as relics of past periods. However, critics
emphasize that the great majority of viral genes have no
homologous (evolutionarily similar) cellular counterpart, so if
viruses originated from escaped cellular genes, why are more
cellular genes not found in viruses, and where did all these unique
viral genes come from?

It is more likely that retroviruses infected cells and integrated into

their genomes, rather than retroviruses being derived from them.

65
3. The regressive hypothesis or reduction hypothesis

The regressive, or reduction, hypothesis suggests that viruses began

as small cells that, much like bacteria such as Chlamydia, infect
larger cells. These pre-virus cells then lost their metabolic and most
of their reproductive abilities, and became inert outside of a cellular
environment, and reliant on cellular pathways for reproduction

Regressive Hypothesis suggests that viruses were once independent

intracellular organisms that regressed back to a less-advanced state
where they were unable to replicate independently.
Properties of Viruses
Viruses lead “a kind of borrowed life.”
• A virus is a minuscule, acellular, infectious agent having one or
several pieces of nucleic acid—either DNA or RNA.
Virus
They are microscopic
They are obligate intracellular parasites
They cannot replicate independently of a living cell (host cell)
They have no cell nucleus, organelles, or cytoplasm.
Viruses possess their own genomes(DNA or RNA.)
• Viruses rely on the host cell for energy, metabolic intermediates, and
protein synthesis.
• When they invade susceptible host cells, viruses display some
properties of living organisms and so appear to be on the borderline
between living and nonliving.
The major feature that distinguishes viruses from other
microorganisms is

Virus particles are produced from the assembly of preformed

components, while other biological agents grow from an increase
in the integrated sum of their components and reproduce by
division.

Virus particles (virions) do not grow or undergo division.

Viruses lack the genetic information that encodes the tools

necessary for the generation of metabolic energy or for protein
synthesis (ribosomes).

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 Viruses all share the following four traits:
 they are obligate intracellular pathogens
 they encode at least one capsomere
 they reproduce by assembly
 they can evolve.
No other biological entities share these four characteristics.

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Figure 12 five specific properties of viruses that distinguish them from living
cells:

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Figure 13 Properties of viruses

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