武汉大学病毒学双语版Chapter8.pptVIP

Subviral Agents: Genomes Without Viruses, Viruses Without Genomes Learning Objectives: On completing this session, you should be able to: Understand the concept of subviral agents. Explain the differences between satellites viroids. Summarize the present state of knowledge about transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Satellites Viroids Satellites are small RNA molecules which are absolutely dependent on the presence of another virus for multiplication. Even viruses have their own parasites! Most satellites are associated with plant viruses, but a few are associated with bacteriophages or animal viruses, e.g. the Dependovirus genus, which are satellites of adenoviruses. Two classes of satellites can be distinguished, satellite viruses, which encode their own coat proteins, satellite RNAs (or virusoids), which use the coat protein of the helper virus. Satellites Typical properties of satellites are: A genome of approximately 500-2000 nucleotides of single-stranded RNA. Unlike defective virus genomes, there is little or no nucleotide sequence similarity between the satellite the helper virus genome. They cause distinct disease symptoms in plants which are not seen with the helper virus alone. Replication of satellites usually interferes with the replication of the helper virus (unlike most defective virus genomes). Satellites replicate in the cytoplasm using an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, an enzymatic activity found in plant but not animal cells. Examples of satellites: Barley yellow dwarf virus satellite RNA: Helper - Luteovirus Tobacco ringspot virus satellite RNA: Helper - Nepovirus Subterranean clover mottle virus satellite RNA: Helper - Sobemovirus Viroids Viroids are very small (200-400nt), rod-like RNA molecules with a high degree of secondary structure. They have no capsid or envelope consist only of a single nucleic acid molecule. Viroids are associated with plant diseases are distinct from satellites in a number of ways. The first viroid to be