Viral replication

Viral replication is the process by which a virus particle comes into contact with a cell, penetrates it, and hijacks the cellular machinery in order to reproduce. A virus can replicate within the host cell, kill the host cell, or both.

Replication of viruses may be done by: 

1.Lysogenic cycle (the acquisition of a prophage genome that grows together with the bacterial genome)

2.Lytic cycle (the release of virions from infected host cells).

Viral Replication:

Viral replication is a type of virus replication that can lead to the propagation of viral populations. Viral replication occurs when a new host infects with a virus without the presence of infectious virions. Many types of pathogens such as viruses, certain bacteria and prions have developed in their own fashion to create an infection through replications where no infectious virions are released. Pathogen reproduction is often considered in two categories: particle-mediated and cell-mediated replication. In particle-mediated reproduction, the infectious agent is directly released from its pathogen into an environmental source where it then enters an organism that becomes another source for infection or transmission.

General Process of Viral Replication:

Viruses replicate in two major steps:

1.Binding to a host cell and

2.Synthesizing its genome.

The synthesis of viral genomes depends on the type of virus, with DNA viruses generally requiring cells that synthesize DNA and RNA viruses requiring cells that synthesize RNA.

Viral replication can occur in both the cytoplasm (viruses with RNA genomes) or at membrane-bound DNA replication factories (viruses with DNA genomes). Viral replication is very specific to each type of virus, which will be discussed below in regards to reproduction models based on the demonstrated steps of viral production.

How Viruses Reproduce?

Viruses differ from each other in their reproduction properties. Some viruses can reproduce only inside certain cells, while others can multiply in any cell type. The following sections describe the different types of virus replication. Although it helps a lot in passing the CISA certification exam, still, if you don’t have enough time to get through this much material then our online CISA prep materials will be very useful for you to pass the exam within a short span of time.

Lysogenic Cycle (the acquisition of a prophage genome that grows together with the bacterial genome):

Lysogeny is a type of virus replication in which prophages integrate into the host cell and share their genome with the host’s chromosome. This process occurs in Eukarya, bacteria, and archaebacteria cells. During this process, a chromosome or episome replication may lead to an integration of viral DNA if it has a phage specific integration site. The term lysogeny comes from the Greek word “lysos”, meaning “dissolution” or “erosion”. Lysogenic cycle occurs only in viruses that are temperate.

The lytic cycle (the release of virions from infected host cells):

Lytic cycle is a viral replication that leads to the death and destruction of the host cells. In this process, the virus produces copies of itself just before it bursts out of the cell. In its simplest form, a virus enters a host cell through physical contact or by being carried in by some other means. While in the cell, it multiplies and makes more of itself until it disfigures its own host beyond repair. It eventually becomes an organism’s cellular contents. Afterwards, when enough viruses have been produced, they burst out of the once-healthy host cells, killing them in order to make way for more viruses.

The process of viral replication is divided into three general stages: initiation, replication and termination. The stages of viral replication have different phases in different types of viruses.

Initiation stages are processes in a virus’s life cycle initiated at the time of infection by the host cell that often involve cleavage from a host cell membrane or entry into a host cell through its outer membrane. It is initiated by the binding between the virion and the host cell’s receptor proteins or receptors that enable this interaction. The virus must be able to replicate itself before it can allow its genes to be transcribed. Replication stage is when genes are transcribed in order to make more copies of themselves protein made by enzymes called proteases.

Conclusion:

Viral replication involves the process by which new viral particles are produced in the infected cell. Virus multiplication is facilitated by a complex network of interactions between the virus and its host, both from within the cell and from the surrounding environment. The assembly process or virion formation begins when a virion particle’s genetic material is retrieved from infected cells or released into the surrounding medium. Viral replication is an essential part of a virus infection. Without replication, there would be no infection. Each virus has its own unique method of replication, and this article discusses the different types of viral replication, as well as toolkits that viruses can use to replicate.