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It is the first step of viral replication. Some viruses attach to the cell membrane of the host cell and inject its DNA or RNA into the host to initiate infection. Attachment to a host cell is often achieved by a virus attachment protein that extends from the protein shell (), of a virus.
This infection causes a host cell to become malignant and can be either cytocidal (usually in the case of RNA viruses) or persistent (usually in the case of DNA viruses). Cells with transforming infections undergo immortalization and inherit the genetic material to produce tumors. Since the term cytocidal, or cytolytic, refers to cell death ...
To enter the cells, proteins on the surface of the virus interact with proteins of the cell. Attachment, or adsorption, occurs between the viral particle and the host cell membrane. A hole forms in the cell membrane, then the virus particle or its genetic contents are released into the host cell, where replication of the viral genome may commence.
The virus's nucleic acid uses the host cell's metabolic machinery to make large amounts of viral components. [2] In DNA viruses, the DNA transcribes itself into messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules that are then used to direct the cell's ribosomes. One of the first polypeptides to be translated destroys the host's DNA.
An example is the viral transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another and hence an example of horizontal gene transfer. [2] [3] [page needed] Transduction does not require physical contact between the cell donating the DNA and the cell receiving the DNA (which occurs in conjugation), and it is DNase resistant (transformation is
Viruses are a particularly effective form of gene delivery because the structure of the virus prevents degradation via lysosomes of the DNA it is delivering to the nucleus of the host cell. [28] In gene therapy a gene that is intended for delivery is packaged into a replication-deficient viral particle to form a viral vector . [ 29 ]
Prior to entry, a virus must attach to a host cell. Attachment is achieved when specific proteins on the viral capsid or viral envelope bind to specific proteins called receptor proteins on the cell membrane of the target cell. A virus must now enter the cell, which is covered by a phospholipid bilayer, a cell's natural barrier to the outside ...
Like DNA, RNA can carry genetic information. RNA viruses have genomes composed of RNA that encodes a number of proteins. The viral genome is replicated by some of those proteins, while other proteins protect the genome as the virus particle moves to a new host cell.