Virus Structure & a quick glance into Virus Biology

Virus are the smallest and ultra microscopic particles discovered by Iwanowsky in 1892.

They are observed only by an electron microscope.

They are so smaller that they can pass through bacterial filters.

Further, they are obligate parasites on either animal or plant cells.

That means they are inactive viable forms only inside the host and inactive once outside the host cells.

Hence they have characters of non-living forms also.

Virus structure & function

Structure of a virus is a bit simple. They do not need any food, air and water, unlike other living organisms.

They have no specific birth or death and are just particles replicating in the host cells.

Virus Structure:

Viruses do not possess any cellular constituents. They are particles which have just two biochemical substances like

1. The Nucleic acid &

2. The Protein core.

The nucleic acid forms the center of the virus particle. It is usually a DNA as in animal virus & bacteriophages. While it an RNA in plant virus. This nucleic acid forming the center portion is surrounded by a protein coat termed as the capsid. This capsid is made of many capsomeres.

This protein coat forms the bulk of virus mass. Which may sometimes have carbohydrates and lipids to small extent.

Let us see the structure of virus using an example of a bacteriophage virus. ( as shown in the fig below).

virus structure

A bacteriophage has a head, tail, collar (neck), base plate (end plate) and tail fibers.

Head is hexagonal in shape with double-stranded DNA at the center. It is surrounded by a protein coat. This protein coat extends into collar, tail and also tail fibers. There are 6 tail fibers. These help in the attachment of virus to the bacteria.

Virus Biology:

There is not much to study on virus biology except for virus reproduction. Other than reproduction, they have no other physiological processes.

Virus reproduction occurs once a virus infects a compatible cell. i..e. when RNA virus attacks plant cell and DNA containing virus infect animal cell. Reproduction happens in four stages and taking bacteriophage, for example,

a) Infection phase: Here virus particle gets attached to the cell, bores a hole with lysosomes type enzyme and injects it DNA into the host cell.

b) Eclipse phase: Here the virus DNA take the chromosome forming machinery of the cell under control and directs to produce different parts of the virus particle.

c) Vegetative phase: In this stage, the virus components formed get assembled to form new virus particles with DNA as their core and protein capsule surrounding it.

d) Lytic phase: Here the virus particles thus formed initiate breakage of the bacterial cell and thus get liberated out of the cell.

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