- acellular
- lacking cells
- acute disease
- disease where the symptoms rise and fall within a short period of time
- asymptomatic disease
- disease where there are no symptoms and the individual is unaware of being infected unless lab tests are performed
- attenuation
- weakening of a virus during vaccine development
- AZT
- anti-HIV drug that inhibits the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase
- back mutation
- when a live virus vaccine reverts back to it disease-causing phenotype
- bacteriophage
- virus that infects bacteria
- budding
- method of exit from the cell used in certain animal viruses, where virions leave the cell individually by capturing a piece of the host plasma membrane
- capsid
- protein coating of the viral core
- capsomere
- protein subunit that makes up the capsid
- cell necrosis
- cell death
- chronic infection
- describes when the virus persists in the body for a long period of time
- cytopathic
- causing cell damage
- envelope
- lipid bilayer that encircles some viruses
- fusion
- method of entry by some enveloped viruses, where the viral envelope fuses with the plasma membrane of the host cell
- gall
- appearance of a plant tumor
- gene therapy
- treatment of genetic disease by adding genes, using viruses to carry the new genes inside the cell
- group I virus
- virus with a dsDNA genome
- group II virus
- virus with an ssDNA genome
- group III virus
- virus with a dsRNA genome
- group IV virus
- virus with an ssRNA genome with positive polarity
- group V virus
- virus with an ssRNA genome with negative polarity
- group VI virus
- virus with an ssRNA genome converted into dsDNA by reverse transcriptase
- group VII virus
- virus with a single-stranded mRNA converted into dsDNA for genome replication
- horizontal transmission
- transmission of a disease between unrelated individuals
- hyperplasia
- abnormally high cell growth and division
- hypoplasia
- abnormally low cell growth and division
- intermittent symptom
- symptom that occurs periodically
- latency
- virus that remains in the body for a long period of time but only causes intermittent symptoms
- lysis
- bursting of a cell
- lysogenic cycle
- type of virus replication in which the viral genome is incorporated into the genome of the host cell
- lytic cycle
- type of virus replication in which virions are released through lysis, or bursting, of the cell
- matrix protein
- envelope protein that stabilizes the envelope and often plays a role in the assembly of progeny virions
- negative polarity
- ssRNA viruses with genomes complementary to their mRNA
- oncogenic virus
- virus that has the ability to cause cancer
- oncolytic virus
- virus engineered to specifically infect and kill cancer cells
- pathogen
- agent with the ability to cause disease
- permissive
- cell type that is able to support productive replication of a virus
- phage therapy
- treatment of bacterial diseases using bacteriophages specific to a particular bacterium
- positive polarity
- ssRNA virus with a genome that contains the same base sequences and codons found in their mRNA
- prion
- infectious particle that consists of proteins that replicate without DNA or RNA
- productive
- viral infection that leads to the production of new virions
- prophage
- phage DNA that is incorporated into the host cell genome
- PrPc
- normal prion protein
- PrPsc
- infectious form of a prion protein
- replicative intermediate
- dsRNA intermediate made in the process of copying genomic RNA
- reverse transcriptase
- enzyme found in Baltimore groups VI and VII that converts single-stranded RNA into double-stranded DNA
- vaccine
- weakened solution of virus components, viruses, or other agents that produce an immune response
- vertical transmission
- transmission of disease from parent to offspring
- viral receptor
- glycoprotein used to attach a virus to host cells via molecules on the cell
- virion
- individual virus particle outside a host cell
- viroid
- plant pathogen that produces only a single, specific RNA
- virus core
- contains the virus genome