Viral replication

From A-levels

• Viruses can only replicate inside viable host cells.
• General strategy is to use the host cell enzymes to replicate and translate viral DNA, therefore making new virus particles, which burst out of the cell.
• There are two main mechanisms

[edit] Mechanism 1

• The virus attaches to the host cell membrane. This stimulates endocytosis.
• The viral envelope fuses with the vesicle membrane, releasing the nucleocapsids into the cytoplasm.
• The viral RNA from this enters the nucleus, where it is replicated to form mRNA using the viral RNA polymerase enzyme.