ViralGenomeandStructuresLaboratoryofMedicalMolecularVirologyChangLiuhttp://v
com/special/opencourse/virology
htmlBreakthroughin1950’s•Theviralnucleicacidgenomecarriestheinformationneededtoreplicate,build,andspreadvirionsintheworld
•OneofthebuildingblocksofMolecularBiology•T4,TMVHershey-ChoseexperimentwithphageT4Fraenkel-Conrat’sworkwithTMVSevenGenomeTypes•EitherDNAorRNA•Structurallydiverse:linear,circular,segmented,gapped,single-stranded(+)strand,single-stranded(-)strand,singlestranded(ambisense),double-stranded,somehavecovalentlyattachedproteins,somehavecross-linkedendsofdouble-strandedDNA•RNAWorldhypothesisWhatinformationisencodedinaviralgenome
•Replicationofviralgenome•Assemblyandpackagingofthegenome•Regulationandtimingofthereplicationcycle•Modulationofhostdefenses•Spreadtoothercell