Characteristics of Virus
M.W. Beijerinek discovered that healthy plants get infected from the extract of an infectious tobacco and named the new pathogen a ‘virus’. W. M. Stanley demonstrated that the virus could be crystallized, and the crystal consisted of proteins. Following are few of its characteristics :
- Viruses are submicroscopic organisms. They are even smaller than bacteria.
- They are non-cellular and lack cell organelles.
- Viruses act as connecting links between the living and the non-living.
- Viruses are obligate parasites.
- Viruses contain protein and genetic material that could either be DNA or RNA but can never be both.
- They require a host cell to multiply as they cannot live on their own.
- They can infect all life forms- humans, plants, animals, and microorganisms.
Virus in Biology
Virus is an infectious agent of the submicroscopic size that cannot survive alone. Hence, it infects cells of other living organisms and replicates itself using the components of these host cells. Its biological structure is comprised of a fragment of nucleic acid that could either be DNA or RNA. The most commonly known examples of viruses are HIV Virus, Coronavirus, Ebola virus, etc.
In this article, you will learn about what is virus in biology, characteristics of virus, its structure, importance, reproduction and examples of virus.
Table of Content
- What is Virus in Biology?
- Characteristics of Virus
- Classification of Virus
- Structure of Virus
- Example of a Bacterial Virus
- Reproduction in Virus
- Importance of Virus
- Diseases caused by Virus