CAS BI 107 Chapter Notes - Chapter 19: Global Health, Influenza A Virus Subtype H5N1, Circular Rna
Document Summary
Concept 19. 1 a virus consists of a nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat. Viruses are extremely small and consist of only of a nuclei acid genome and a protective coating of proteins, with some viruses further encased in a lipid membrane. The small size of viruses was initially important in their discovery. An extract of plants exhibiting tobacco mosaic disease was able to infect plants despite bacteria being filtered out. Scientists did not know what the infectious agent was and took many years to identify a virus as the culprit. The genomic information in different species of viruses can consist of dna or rna and may be single stranded or double stranded. The type of nuclei acid the virus contains is important for controlling its life cycle, how it replicates, and its classification. Surrounding the nuclei acid genome is a protein coat called a capsid.
