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2021-05-14

What are true about viruses?

What are true about viruses?

All true viruses contain nucleic acid—either DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) or RNA (ribonucleic acid)—and protein. The nucleic acid encodes the genetic information unique for each virus. The infective, extracellular (outside the cell) form of a virus is called the virion.

What is the evolutionary purpose of viruses?

It is often assumed that viruses evolve by capture and accretion of cellular genes (the virus pickpocket paradigm) and that a major role of viruses in cellular evolution is to facilitate the lateral gene transfers (LGT) of cellular genes between cellular lineages [20].

Which statement is correct about viruses?

The correct statement about viruses is that it contains either DNA or RNA. The virions, the viral particles are made up of genetic materials and also include protein coat. It is not affected by any antibiotics, however a lot of anti-viral medicines developed today do affect these viruses.

Is it true that viruses are smaller than the hosts they infect?

Viruses are smaller than the hosts they infect. -Viruses do not consist of cells; therefore, they are not prokaryotes or eukaryotes. All of these viruses would still have genetic material, either in the form of DNA or RNA. The newly formed viruses can lyse the host cell and now infect new host cells.

How do we know viruses are not alive?

Viruses are not living things. Viruses are complicated assemblies of molecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates, but on their own they can do nothing until they enter a living cell. Without cells, viruses would not be able to multiply. Therefore, viruses are not living things.

Do viruses drive microbial evolution?

Viruses are a potent driver of human evolution, both directly and indirectly. Here we discuss just how much influence they have our genetic makeup. Viruses are a huge source of selective pressure in the evolution of a species.

Where did viruses evolve from?

Viruses may have arisen from mobile genetic elements that gained the ability to move between cells. They may be descendants of previously free-living organisms that adapted a parasitic replication strategy. Perhaps viruses existed before, and led to the evolution of, cellular life.

How does virus multiply?

For viruses to multiply, they usually need support of the cells they infect. Only in their host´s nucleus can they find the machines, proteins, and building blocks with which they can copy their genetic material before infecting other cells.

How long does it take for a virus to infect a cell?

The time scale varies for different viruses; it may range from 8 hrs (e.g., poliovirus) to more than 72 hrs (e.g., cytomegalovirus). Infection of a susceptible cell does not automatically insure that viral multiplication will ensue and that viral progeny will emerge.

Where do viruses multiply?

Viral production / replication. Viruses multiply only in living cells. The host cell must provide the energy and synthetic machinery and the low molecular-weight precursors for the synthesis of viral proteins and nucleic acids.

Do viruses attack other viruses?

All three of these viruses are what are known as virophages, viruses that specialize in infecting other viruses. Virophages were first discovered infecting giant viruses from a water-cooling tower in 2008.

Why is RNAi important?

RNA interference (RNAi) has become a very important tool for studying gene functions because it allows sequence specific gene suppression in a variety of organisms and cultured cells. RNAi is characterized by targeted mRNA degradation after introduction of sequence-specific double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) into cells.

What is the result of RNAi?

RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules inhibit gene expression or translation, by neutralizing targeted mRNA molecules.

What does RNAi stand for?

RNA interference

What is the process of RNAi?

The term RNA interference (RNAi) was coined to describe a cellular mechanism that use the gene’s own DNA sequence of gene to turn it off, a process that researchers call silencing. During RNAi, long dsRNA is cut or “diced” into small fragments ~21 nucleotides long by an enzyme called “Dicer”.

Is miRNA an RNAi?

A considerable body of literature now classifies miRNAs as RNAi molecules. The first miRNA was discovered in 1993 in a study examining developmental regulatory genes in C. elegans. Soon after its discovery, miRNA was quickly found to be a class of small RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression (Figure 1).

What proteins are involved in RNAi?

PPD (PAZ Piwi domain) proteins and the Dicer family have been the subjects of intense study over the last 6 years. These proteins have well-established roles in RNAi (RNA interference), a process that relies on siRNAs (small interfering RNAs) or miRNAs (microRNAs) to mediate specificity.