Microbiology: Virology.
Microbiology involves studying different microorganisms whether unicellular, multicellular, or acellular. It is a broad discipline that has been classified into different sub-disciplines and Virology is one of the subfields. Virology is the study of viruses or virus-like molecules and the study includes aspects like their taxonomy, evolution, genetics, and their disease-producing capabilities (Doornum, Helvoort, & Sankaran, 2020). Viruses over time have resulted to be classified as organisms since they are either very complicated molecules or simple microorganisms. The field was previously dependent on any advancement made by other sciences but it slowly evolved to be independent tools used to investigate basic processes in cells that are biochemical. This made the perception of viruses as negative agents that cause diseases that have to be controlled or eliminated to change. Viruses have proven to have certain beneficial properties that if exploited can result in positive outcomes.
Virus taxonomy is one of the major branches in virology. Their classification is based on the cell they infect as their host, their geometrical shape, and lastly their general structure. A virus can infect either an animal, plant, or a fungus and even bacterium. Therefore there are animal viruses, fungal viruses, plant viruses, bacteriophages. Bacteriophages are considered the most complex of the viruses. Viruses range from size 30 to 450 nanometer which means that the majority of them are not visible with the eye of even a light microscope.
The genetic material of viruses is also used to identify and distinguish them/ They do not produce through binary fusion where preexisting cells split to similar minicells, instead the viruses join different parts and form a new strand of a viral particle. This is why they are considered as parasites since they form new cells by replicating in a host and using the host’s nutrients to replicate. The viral genome is not limited as compared to cells which have only a double-stranded DNA. Viruses can either have double-stranded DNA/RNA single-stranded DNA/RNA (Carter, Saunders, V & Saunders, 2007, p,5). The genome is a nucleic acid that is coated with a protein called the capsid. Their replication on their hosts can result in different outcomes. One of the major reasons why viruses became an interesting aspect was their disease-causing capabilities. Diseases that are infectious such as measles, cold, diarrhea, yellow fever, AIDS, Corona, and even Alzheimers are all due to different types of viruses invading and multiplying in hosts. Viruses such as the Human Papillomavirus has been associated with causing cervical cancer
The realization that viruses are the major causes of diseases leads to the creation of viral pathogenesis which is the study of how viruses manifest in hosts, replicate, and end up causing the different diseases. Scientists through this have been able to measure the level of virulence of many diseases. When a virus comes into contact with a cell in their host the host reacts by producing antibodies that either neutralize the virus or eliminate it from its system. Once a host has eliminated the virus they are immune and through the ELISA test then the antibodies can be measured and a vaccine can even be generated from studying the newly developed antibodies. The vaccine will be able to prevent any form of viral disease forms the virus for a long period. There also has been the development of antiviral drugs that are used to treat diseases caused by the virus, this happens when the host fails to eliminate the virus.
Antiviral drugs inhibit the development of the virus rather than destroy the virus and most of the developed ones help deal with viruses such as AIDS, Hepatitis A, and B as well as both types of influenza. Through various researches, scientists have concluded that vaccinations are to be considered as the first line of fighting viruses before resulting in antiviral treatment (Heymann & Aylward 2006). The vaccine boosts the immune system of the host and gives the host a better chance at fighting the virus. A vaccinated population has shown a significant reduction in the number of cases related to viral diseases or infections. Viruses that kill their hosts are considered as a wonder to scientists this is because they believe that it is not beneficial to the virus if its host does not exist.
Scientists believe that when a virus ends up killing its host then it was due to its movement from a host which it was coexisting with and then ended up in a host which does not have a welcoming environment. A good example is an influenza causing a virus whose initial host is believed to be birds but when introduced to a human body ends up causing negative effects on the human body. However there are cases where viruses do not kill their hosts and even end up bringing benefits to its host White clover cryptic virus is an example of such a virus as it helps suppress nodulation in legumes when there is adequate nitrogen available( Roossinck,2011,p 9). This mostly happens in plants since they are mostly affected by bacterial viruses which if introduced in their phloem to feed, can either destroy the plant or help it to grow. Viruses such as the in plants virus infections mostly occur due to insect movements as plants do not move. It is evident that viruses. Viruses are living organisms since they have all living organism characteristics. It is important to note that even though some viruses are beneficial to their hosts most are not, we need to have the knowledge about them so that we know if they are benign or lethal if we come in contact with them at any given point.
Works cited.
Carter, J., Saunders, V., & Saunders, V. A. (2007). Virology: principles and applications. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1-48
Heymann, D. L.; Aylward, R. B. (2006). Mass vaccination: When and why. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology.pp 304.
Roossinck, M.J. (2011) The good viruses: viral mutualistic symbioses. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 9, 99–108.
Van Doornum, G., Van Helvoort, T., & Sankaran, N. (2020). From cell culture to the molecular revolution: The rise of medical virology and its organization. In Leeuwenhoek’s Legatees and Beijerinck’s Beneficiaries: A History of Medical Virology in The Netherlands (pp. 115-142).