Viruses, Viroids, and Prions Lecture

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from the lecture on Viruses, Viroids, and Prions.

Virus

Obligatory intracellular parasites that contain either DNA or RNA and a protein coat.

Virion

Complete, fully developed, infectious viral particle composed of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat.

Capsid

Protein coat that protects the viral nucleic acid, structured by capsomers.

Bacteriophage

Virus that infects bacteria.

Host Range

The spectrum of host cells that a virus can infect.

Oncolytic Virus

Viruses used in therapy to infect and kill cancer cells.

Lytic Cycle

A mechanism of bacteriophage multiplication leading to host cell lysis.

Lysogenic Cycle

A mechanism of bacteriophage multiplication where the viral genome integrates into the host genome and remains dormant.

Reverse Transcriptase

Enzyme used by retroviruses to convert RNA into DNA.

Latent Infection

An infection where the virus remains inactive in the host's cell, potentially reactivating later.

Viroid

Short pieces of naked RNA that can cause diseases in plants but not in animals.

Prion

Infectious protein that can cause spongiform encephalopathies in animals and humans.

Transformation

The conversion of normal cells into cancerous cells due to integration of viral genetic material.

Antigen

A substance that induces an immune response; transformed cells express specific antigens.

Transduction

The process by which bacterial DNA is transferred from one bacterium to another by a virus.