Viruses, Viroids, and Prions - Chapter 13

These flashcards encompass key terms and definitions related to viruses, their characteristics, replication cycles, and classification.

Obligate intracellular parasites

Organisms that can only survive and replicate inside a host cell.

Lytic cycle

A viral replication cycle where viruses produce new virions and cause host cell lysis.

Lysogenic cycle

A viral replication cycle where the viral genome integrates into the host genome and replicates with it without causing cell lysis.

Capsid

The protein coat that surrounds the nucleic acid core of a virus.

Virion

An infectious viral particle in its extracellular form.

Prophage

A viral genome that is integrated into the bacterial host's DNA during the lysogenic cycle.

Viral envelope

A lipid bilayer that surrounds some viruses, acquired from the host cell during replication.

Bacteriophage

A type of virus that specifically infects bacteria.

Recognition elements

Molecules embedded in the viral capsid or envelope that facilitate attachment to host cells.

Burst size

The number of virions released from a lysed host cell.

Temperate phages

Bacteriophages that can multiply by either the lytic or lysogenic cycle.

Lysogenic conversion

When a prophage carries genes that alter the phenotype of the bacteria.

Host specificity

The ability of a virus to infect only particular types of host cells.

Nucleic acid

The genetic material of a virus, which can be either DNA or RNA.

Accessory proteins

Additional proteins carried by some viruses that can aid in viral replication.

Cytoplasm

The fluid inside a cell where metabolic processes occur.

Induction

The process by which a lysogenic virus is triggered to enter the lytic cycle.

Burst time

The time it takes for a virus to release new virions after infection.

Single stranded (ss)

A type of nucleic acid structure that consists of only one strand of genomic material.

Double stranded (ds)

A type of nucleic acid structure that consists of two complementary strands of genomic material.