Viruses and Prokaryotes

What is a Virus?
A virus is a noncellular particle made up of
genetic material and protein that can
invade living cells
Structure
Core of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein
coat called a capsid
Capsid can be DNA or RNA, but not both
Core can be several to several hundred genes

SO HOW BIG ARE

VIRUSES???
Viruses are REALLY
small.
They are much smaller
than bacteria.
They can only be seen
with an electron
microscope.

Bacteriophage
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect
bacteria
Bacteriophage
Head capsid and DNA
Tail with fibers to attach to bacteria

T group
Most commonly studied are T group T1,
T2, T3, T4 etc...
T4 has a DNA core within a protein coat,
and tail with tail fibers to attach to bacteria.

Viral shapes
Variety of shapes
Rod
Tadpole
Many sided, helical or cubelike

VIRUS SHAPES
Round
Rod-shaped
Many sided
(icosohedral)

SHAPES MAY DIFFER BUT

All viruses have
1. Chromosome-like part that carries hereditary information The Core
2. Protein coat: Protects hereditary information and provides the shape! The
Capsid
Tobacco Mosaic
Virus

T4 Bacteriophage
Head

DNA

Influenza
Virus

RNA

Capsid
proteins

Capsid

RNA

Tail
sheath
Tail
fiber

Surface
proteins

Membrane
envelope

ROUND VIRUSES

Herpes virus
There are
two types:
Genital
oral

ROD-SHAPED

Tobacco
mosaic
virus

MANY SIDED

bacteriophage

E coli bacteria

Is this why viruses infect us?

YES!
Viruses need
living organisms
in order to
reproduce and
form more
viruses!

Injecting DNA virus

Virus Size
Size 20 to 400 nanometers (one
nanometer is one billionth of a meter)
Specificity usually infect specific
organisms
Cannot infect animals if it infects plants
Some can infect wider variety
Rabies all mammals, some birds

VIRUSES ARE SPECIFIC IN

THE CELLS THEY INFECT
Tobacco mosaic virus: only tobacco plants
not wheat or corn
Rabies: only nervous system cells of mammals

Common cold: infects cells on airway passage to

lungs

Lytic Infection

Cause cells to lyse or burst

1. Infection chance contact virus with right kind of bacterium. Virus

attaches to bacterium and injects its DNA. Most times, complete
virus particle does not enter.
2. Growth Bacterium cant tell difference between bacterial and viral
DNA. RNA polymerase causes mRNA to be made from cell for virus.
Viral DNA takes over and produces more DNA and viral proteins.
3. Replication Virus uses bacterial material to make thousands of
copies of the protein coat and DNA. Cell becomes filled with virus
particles. (All three stages can happen with E. coli within 25 minutes!)
4. DNA serves as central point for virus particles to be assembled. Cells
fill with virus and lyse (burst). New viruses can now infect new cells.

SO HOW DO VIRUSES CAUSE

DISEASE?
Section 19-3
Bacteriophage
protein coat

Bacteriophage DNA
Bacterial
chromosome

Bacteriophage attaches to
bacteriums cell wall
Bacteriophage enzyme lyses the
bacteriums cell wall, releasing
new bacteriophage particles that
can attack other cells.

Lytic Cycle
Bacteriophage injects DNA
into bacterium

Bacteriophage proteins and

nucleic acids assemble into
complete bacteriophage
particles

Bacteriophage takes over

bacteriums metabolism, causing
synthesis of new bacteriophage
proteins and nucleic acids

Bacteriophage
Bacteriophage DNA
Bacteriophage protein

Retroviruses
RNA viruses
When they infect a cell, they produce DNA copies
of their RNA genes.
Retroviruses have their genetic information copied
backwards. RNA DNA
One retrovirus is HIV. Others cause cancer in
animals and humans.
The theory is that viruses were not the first living
things. They are dependent on living things to
survive.

EUBACTERIA AND
ARCHAEBACTERIA:
The two bacterial
kingdoms
Bacteria on a pin head

Eubacteria
True bacteria
largest Kindgom of prokaryotes
generally surrounded by cell wall composed of
complex carbohydrates
have a cell membrane (some have 2 cell membranes)
Some have flagella for movement
Found everywhere
Some produce disease
Some photosynthetic
some very useful cheese is just one example

PROKARYOTIC CELLS
Prokaryote what does that mean?
Classification of Prokaryotes
All prokaryotes were in kingdom Monera.
Now 2 kingdoms
Eubacteria and archaebacteria

Archaebacteria
Archaebacteria includes organisms that
live in very harsh environments
Methanogens live in oxygen free
environments mud, digestive tracts of
animals
Extremely salty environments
Hot springs

Identifying Bacteria
Cell Shape
Rod bacilli
Sphere cocci
Spiral spirilla

Bacterial Shapes

Round

Rod

Spiral

Arrangement
2 cocci diplococci
long chains streptococci
clumps, clusters staphylococci

Cell Wall
Chemical nature Gram staining
Hans Christian Gram
2 dyes crystal violet (purple) and safranine (red)
bacteria either take one or the other
If only one thick layer of carbohydrate and protein
molecules outside the cell membrane picked up
crystal violet appeared purple GRAM POSITIVE
If cell had 2nd, outer layer of lipid and carbohydrate
picked up safranine appeared red GRAM NEGATIVE

Bacterial movement
propelled by flagella
lash, snake, or spiral forward
no movement

Bacterial Respiration
Obligate aerobes require oxygen
Obligate anaerobes must live in
absence of oxygen
example is Clostridium botulinum

Facultative anaerobes can live with or

without oxygen

Reproduction
Some can reproduce every 20 minutes
Held in check by food and production of wastes
Types:
Binary Fission
Replication of DNA and division in half
Asexual
Conjugation
Sexual involves the exchange of genetic material
Long bridge of protein forms between the cells
Donor genetic information transferred to recipient through
bridge
Recipient cell has different genes at the end than it did to
begin with

Importance of Bacteria

Used in production of products we use every day

Yogurt
Cheese
Buttermilk
Sour cream
Pickles
Sauerkraut
Vinegar
Wine
Industry
digest petroleum
remove wastes and poisons from water
synthesizing drugs through genetic engineering

Symbiotic Relationships
(mutuallism)
E. coli in humans help us digest food
make vitamins we cant, we give them a
home, food, and transportation
Bacteria in the intestines of cattle allow
them to break down cellulose (in grass
and hay)

Bacteria in the Environment

Bacteria are like the stage hands that
allow the show to go on without being
seen (or always given the credit)
Bacteria recycle and decompose dead
material
Saprophytes organisms that use the
complex molecules of a once living
organism as their food source

Sewage decomposition
Sewage treatment bacteria is added
directly to the raw sewage
How does a septic tank work?

Nitrogen Fixation
All organisms are TOTALLY dependent on
monerans for Nitrogen
All Plants need nitrogen to make amino acids (NH2)
Because animals eat plants, they get their
proteins from plants
What percentage of the air is Nitrogen?
Plants, and most other organisms cannot use
this directly
Need Nitrogen to be FIXED chemically as
ammonia

Nitrogen Fixation
Scientists can make synthetic nitrogen containing
fertilizers by mixing Nitrogen and Hydrogen gases,
heating to 500 degrees C and compressing it to 300 X
normal atmospheric pressure dangerous, expensive,
time consuming
Many cyanobacteria can take nitrogen from the air and
convert it to a useable form this is called Nitrogen
Fixation
Bacteria are the only organisms that can do this.
Some plants have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen
fixing bacteria
soybean Rhizobium grows in nodules around roots

Diseases caused by Viruses and Monerans

only a small number of viruses and
bacteria can cause disease
Pathogens organisms that cause
disease
All viruses infect living cells
Disease occurs when infection causes
damage to the cells

Viruses and Disease

Examples are:

Small Pox
Polio
Measles
AIDS
Mumps
Influenza
Yellow Fever
Rabies
Common Cold
Ebola etc

Vaccine
The bodys own defenses must be used
Vaccine dead or weakened viruses that
stimulate the bodies defense system
Symptoms can be treated sometimes, but
once someone is infected by a virus, there
is not much science can do

Bacteria and Disease

Bacterial diseases include:
Diptheria
TB
Typhoid
Tetnus
Hansen disease
syphilis
cholera
bubonic plague
Flesh Eating Bacteria

2 ways bacteria cause disease

1. Damage cells and tissues of infected
organisms directly by breaking down cells
2. Releasing toxins (poisons)
Many bacteria can live without a host organism
(on a petri dish)
Rickettsiae cannot live outside a host cell. They
have leaky cell walls
Rickettsiae cause Rocky Mountain Spotted
Fever, typhus, and Legionnaires disease

 Measures to fight bacterial infection

include:
Antibiotics drugs and natural compounds
that attack and destroy bacteria in the body
NOT Effective against viruses