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5.6: Introduction to Virus Infections and Hosts

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    43830

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    Describe a viral infection and explain what impact an infection has on its host

    Viruses can be seen as obligate, intracellular parasites. A virus must attach to a living cell, be taken inside, manufacture its proteins and copy its genome, and find a way to escape the cell so that the virus can infect other cells. Viruses can infect only certain species of hosts and only certain cells within that host. Cells that a virus may use to replicate are called permissive. For most viruses, the molecular basis for this specificity is that a particular surface molecule known as the viral receptor must be found on the host cell surface for the virus to attach. Also, metabolic and host cell immune response differences seen in different cell types based on differential gene expression are a likely factor in which cells a virus may target for replication. The permissive cell must make the substances that the virus needs or the virus will not be able to replicate there.

    What You’ll Learn to Do

    • List the steps of replication and explain what occurs at each step
    • Explain the transmission and diseases of viruses that infect animals
    • Explain the transmission and diseases of viruses that infect plants

    Learning Activities

    The learning activities for this section include the following:

    • Steps of Virus Infections
    • Different Hosts and Their Viruses
    • Self Check: Virus Infections and Hosts

    Contributors and Attributions

    CC licensed content, Original
    • Introduction to Virus Infections and Hosts. Authored by: Shelli Carter and Lumen Learning. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
    CC licensed content, Shared previously

    5.6: Introduction to Virus Infections and Hosts is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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