College Of Science and Allied Health
(COSAH)
African Methodist Episcopal
University (AMEU)
34 Camp Johnson Road, Monrovia,
Liberia
Course: Biology 202
Submitted To: Madam Zainab O, Assaf
Submitted by: Group 4
Date of Submission: February 27, 2024
Group Four Members
Emmanuel
Voker…………………………………….2221097
Faith M.
David………………………………………..2221670
Praise S. David………………………………………
2222100
Odell M
Davis………………………………………..2222235
Fatima
Attoh………………………………………….2222677
D. Eltricia M,
Nimely……………………………….2220685
Table of Content
Definition of Virology/ Virus
History of Virology
Types of Virology
Classification of Virology
Impact of the discovery of Virology
Characteristics of Viruses
Advantages and Disadvantages of Viruses
Conclusion
Reference(s)
Introduction/Definition of Virology
Virology
Virology is a branch of microbiology which
deals with the study of Viruses, including
various types of viruses, their characteristics,
their immunity, structure, evolution,
composition, method of infection, and their
ability to destroy or infect the host cells.
Virus
Viruses are complex biology particles that lack
nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane and basic
cellular structures. They are very tiny
infectious agents with both living and nonliving
characteristics and can only replicate inside a
living host. They belong to the family Viridae
and genus Virus.
History of Virology
Long before a virus was known, scientist
studied diseases caused by these viruses but
did not know what a virus was. By the late
nineteenth century, the work of Louis Pasteur
(1822-1895) and other scientists has
established the germ theory of diseases and
identified the bacteria that caused many
ailments. But they found out that some
diseases were caused by invisible agents that
could not be filtered out, and that agent was
called virus.
Dmitri Ivanowsky was the first scientist to
discover Virus in 1892. He recognized an
infectious agent which caused tobacco
mosaic disease and they were smaller than
bacteria that were capable of penetrating
through chamberlain filters. Dmitri Ivanovsky
was studying tobacco mosaic disease, which
destroys the leaves of tobacco plants. The
disease was clearly infectious; plants that
came into contact with the sap and diseased
plants were damaged as well. This ability to
reproduce itself eliminated the possibility that
the damaging agent might be a simple toxin.
Hoping to find the bacteria responsible for the
infection, Ivanovsky ran an extract of diseased
leaves through a very fine filter, with pores
small enough to trap any type of bacteria. But
He found that whatever caused the disease
went right through the filter. No matter how
many times He tried to strain out the microbe,
the liquid still retained the ability to infect other
plants.
Ivanovsky published His findings, but little
attention was paid. He himself thought that
there might have simply been a problem with
His filters.
Six years later, however, not knowing about
Ivanovsky's work, the Dutch botanist Martinus
Beijerinck performed the same experiments
and got the same results. While the infectious
agent could not be filtered out, it seemed to
be destroyed when the liquid was heated.
Beijerinck concluded that the infectious agent
was not a microbe at all, but a "contagious
living fluid". Just as Jenner had a century
before when writing about his smallpox
vaccine. Beijerinck used the term "Virus" from
the Latin word for Poison or Pestilence.
Martinis Beijerinck in 1898 called the filter
“Contagium vivum fluidum” and named it the
virus.
The experiments by Martinis Beijerinck and
Dmitri Ivanovsky on the tobacco mosaic virus
in the 1890s are generally thought of as the
beginning of the science of virology, but it was
not until 40years later that viruses could be
isolated with extra-fine filters and imaged
using the electron microscopes.
Types of Virology
• Clinical Virology - the clinical aspects of
pathogenic viruses in individual hosts and
populations of human, animals, or plants. This
includes the study of viral diseases, laboratory
diagnosis, treatment (antiviral therapies), and
control (bio containment and vaccines) using
classical, molecular, or immunological
methods. Study include the virome, virus-host
interactions, and epidemiology of viral
infections.
• Veterinary Virology- is a sub-discipline of
veterinary medicine. It deals with the study of
disease cause by virus and disorders in
animals and non-human species.
Impact of the discovery of Virology
The discovery of virology has had a profound
impact on our understanding of infectious
diseases and how they spread. Virology has
allowed scientists to identify and study
viruses, leading to the development of
vaccines, and treatments for a wide range of
illness. It has also provided insights into how
viruses evolve and adapt, helping us to better
prepare for future outbreaks. Overall, the field
of virology play a crucial role in public health
and significantly improved our ability to
combat viral infections.
Classification of Virus.
Viruses are classified based on the following:
1. The host cell they infect. Examples are:
a. Animal viruses - the viruses which infect
and live inside the animal cell including
humans. They contain DNA or RNA as
genetic material. Some examples of animal
viruses are rabies virus, influenza virus, polio
virus, mumps virus, etc.
b. Plant viruses- the viruses which infect
plants are called plant viruses. They contain
RNA as genetic material, which is enclosed in
a protein coat. Some examples are the potato
virus, tobacco mosaic virus, beet yellow virus,
etc.
c. Bacteriophage- the virus which invade and
infects bacterial cells. They contain DNA as
genetic material. There are varieties of
bacteriophages. Usually, each kind of
bacteriophage will attack only one species or
only one strain of bacteria.
2. The shape of their capsid. Example: after a
helix or an icosahedrons.
3. The virus's structure.
The widely used and most useful classification
system is based on the type of nucleic acid
they use as genetic material and the viral
replication method they carry out to
manipulate host cells into producing more
viruses.
Base on this viruses are classified into the
following types:
RNA virus
The virus that possesses RNA as genetic
material is called RNA virus. They can either
be a single-stranded or a double-stranded
RNA. Some diseases caused by a RNA virus
include common cold, hepatitis, polio,
influenza, and measles.
Mutation rate are higher for the RNA virus.
Therefore, it may be considered as one of the
main reason for lacking back in preventing
effective vaccines to treat and prevent certain
viral diseases.
DNA virus
Virus that possesses DNA as a genetic
material is a DNA virus. They are DNA
dependent and they replicate using DNA
polymerase. They are usually double stranded
DNA but in some cases, they can either b
single stranded DNA.
Bacteriophages, cyan phages and most of the
animal virus are examples of DNA virus.
Reverse transcribing viruses
(retroviruses).
One important class of viruses is this the
retroviruses. When they infect cell, their RNA
molecule is transcribed into DNA. This is a
reversal of the normal direction or
transcription. That is from RNA to DNA,
instead of from DNA to RNA. Retro mean
backward. The DNA strand that is formed
replicates itself to produce a double-stranded
DNA which is used to make more copies of
the virus's original RNA strand. The human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one retrovirus
that causes AIDS.
Characteristics of Viruses
• They have no cell nucleus.
• They do not have an organized cell
structure.
• They typically have one or two strands of
DNA or RNA.
• They are enclosed in a protective coat of
protein called capsid.
• They do not respire, do not metabolize and
do not grow, but they do reproduce.
• They are considered both as living and
nonliving things, as they are inactive outside
the host cell, and active when present inside
host cell.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Viruses
Some advantages of Viruses are;
1. They can help to manufacture
medicine and antibiotics. Some viruses
have vitamins like Biotin and Riboflavin.
2. They form part of the body’s
microboime and safeguard our health.
They can treat illness, deliver vaccines
and diagnose infections.
Some Disadvantages of Viruses;
1. The causes diseases in plants.
2. The causes diseases in humans and
animals as well. Eg: Ebola, HIV, Corona
Virus, Polio etc.
Conclusion
Virology is the study of viruses. Virus is a sac
of protein and nucleic acids. It consists of an
outer protein layer within which lies either one
of the nucleic acids namely; DNA and RNA. A
virus contain one or the other of these nucleic
acids, it does not contain both. It can be
treated through the means of vaccination or
Antiviral Drug.
Reference(s)
1. Nourse, Alan E. “The virus invaders”.
New York: Franklin Watts, 1992
2. Old stone, Michael B. A “Viruses,
plagues and History, Oxford: Oxford
University.
3.
