Chapter 19.1, Problem 1CC

Summary Introduction

To propose a hypothesis: To compare the structures of tobacco mosaic virus and influenza virus.

Introduction: Virus is a distinctive class of microscopic organisms that are infectious in nature. They are typical parasites that can replicate only inside a living host like bacteria, animals, plants, etc. The viral genome is made of nucleic acid, DNA or RNA, which can be either single or double stranded, circular or linear. The nucleic acid is enclosed within a protective protein coat known as capsid. Capsomere is structurally made of individual protein subunits that self-assemble to form a capsid. Virus can infect both plants (e.g. tobacco mosaic virus) and animals (e.g. influenza virus). In some virus the virus capsid is surrounded by a structure called as envelope. This viral envelope is made of lipids and proteins and helps in viral attachment and transfer of genetic material to host.