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Part A shows a micrograph of atadenovirus, which looks like a wispy sphere that has a larger, flatter structure attached to the bottom. To the right of that is an illustration of the atadenovirus that labels capsomeres, capsids, DNA, and spikes made of glycoproteins. Part B shows the enveloped human immunodeficiency virus in black and white. To the right is an illustration that labels the matrix protein, viral envelope, spikes made of glycoproteins, reverse transcriptase, capsids, and RNA.
(a) The naked atadenovirus uses spikes made of glycoproteins from its capsid to bind to host cells. (b) The enveloped human immunodeficiency virus uses spikes made of glycoproteins embedded in its envelope to bind to host cells (credit a “micrograph”: modification of work by NIAID; credit b “micrograph”: modification of work by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Viruses vary in the shape of their capsids, which can be either helical , polyhedral , or complex . A helical capsid forms the shape of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), a naked helical virus , and Ebola virus, an enveloped helical virus. The capsid is cylindrical or rod shaped, with the genome fitting just inside the length of the capsid. Polyhedral capsids form the shapes of poliovirus and rhinovirus, and consist of a nucleic acid surrounded by a polyhedral (many-sided) capsid in the form of an icosahedron. An icosahedral capsid is a three-dimensional, 20-sided structure with 12 vertices. These capsids somewhat resemble a soccer ball. Both helical and polyhedral viruses can have envelopes. Viral shapes seen in certain types of bacteriophages, such as T4 phage, and poxviruses, like vaccinia virus, may have features of both polyhedral and helical viruses so they are described as a complex viral shape (see [link] ). In the bacteriophage complex form, the genome is located within the polyhedral head and the sheath connects the head to the tail fiber s and tail pins that help the virus attach to receptors on the host cell’s surface. Poxviruses that have complex shapes are often brick shaped, with intricate surface characteristics not seen in the other categories of capsid.

Figure a is a helical virus which has a long linear structure. The outer proteins are small spheres arranged into a long, hollow tube. Inside the tube is the genetic material. Tobacco mosaic virus is an example of a helical virus. Figure b is an Icosehedral viruses have a polyhedron structure. The example shown is human rhinovirus which has a pentagon structure. Complex viruses have a more complex structure. The example is variola which has an ovoid structure.
Viral capsids can be (a) helical, (b) polyhedral, or (c) have a complex shape. (credit a “micrograph”: modification of work by USDA ARS; credit b “micrograph”: modification of work by U.S. Department of Energy)
  • Which types of viruses have spikes?

Classification and taxonomy of viruses

Although viruses are not classified in the three domains of life, their numbers are great enough to require classification. Since 1971, the International Union of Microbiological Societies Virology Division has given the task of developing, refining, and maintaining a universal virus taxonomy to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) . Since viruses can mutate so quickly, it can be difficult to classify them into a genus and a species epithet using the binomial nomenclature system. Thus, the ICTV’s viral nomenclature system classifies viruses into families and genera based on viral genetics, chemistry, morphology, and mechanism of multiplication. To date, the ICTV has classified known viruses in seven orders, 96 families, and 350 genera. Viral family names end in - viridae (e.g, Parvoviridae ) and genus names end in −virus (e.g., Parvovirus ). The names of viral orders, families, and genera are all italicized. When referring to a viral species, we often use a genus and species epithet such as Pandoravirus dulcis or Pandoravirus salinus.

The Baltimore classification system is an alternative to ICTV nomenclature. The Baltimore system classifies viruses according to their genomes (DNA or RNA, single versus double stranded, and mode of replication). This system thus creates seven groups of viruses that have common genetics and biology.

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Source:  OpenStax, Microbiology. OpenStax CNX. Nov 01, 2016 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col12087/1.4
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