Virology
Code: 101002Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Microbiology | OB | 2 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Antonio Villaverde Corrales
- Email :
- antonio.villaverde@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- José Luis Corchero Nieto
- Antonio Villaverde Corrales
- Esther Vazquez Gomez
- Ugutz Unzueta Elorza
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
Is essential to have a general background in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Microbiology and Immunology.
Objectives
The teaching objectives of the subject are to provide the students with fundamental knowledge as well as skills and competences related to the biology, structure, genetics and evolution of viruses within the framework of their pathogenesis and the pharmacological and research possibilities offered by the virology.
Learning outcomes
- CM09 (Critically review the scientific contributions of women to the study of microorganisms and other sciences related to microbiology.) Critically review the scientific contributions of women to the study of microorganisms and other sciences related to microbiology.
- CM10 (Integrate knowledge and skills from the field of microbiology, working individually and in groups to prepare and present in writing or orally and publicly a scientific work either in English or in one's own language.) Integrate knowledge and skills from the field of microbiology, working individually and in groups to prepare and present in writing or orally and publicly a scientific work either in English or in one's own language.
- KM14 (Indicate the structural characteristics of microorganisms, paying special attention to the differences between acellular entities, prokaryotic organisms and single-cell eukaryotes.) Indicate the structural characteristics of microorganisms, paying special attention to the differences between acellular entities, prokaryotic organisms and single-cell eukaryotes.
- KM15 (Describe the metabolic and functional diversity of the microbial world, distinguishing the characteristics that define the different taxonomic groups.) Describe the metabolic and functional diversity of the microbial world, distinguishing the characteristics that define the different taxonomic groups.
- KM16 (Identify the main relationships established by microorganisms with each other, with other living beings, with their environment and in general with the ecosystem, and the methods for studying these interactions.) Identify the main relationships established by microorganisms with each other, with other living beings, with their environment and in general with the ecosystem, and the methods for studying these interactions.
- SM13 (Relate the basic genetic components, structures and processes of replicative microorganisms and entities with their functions and the different ecophysiological mechanisms of adaptation to their environment.) Relate the basic genetic components, structures and processes of replicative microorganisms and entities with their functions and the different ecophysiological mechanisms of adaptation to their environment.
- SM14 (Discover the role of microorganisms as causative agents of diseases in humans, animals and plants and the processes used to control them.) Discover the role of microorganisms as causative agents of diseases in humans, animals and plants and the processes used to control them.
Contents
1. Nature and multiplication of viruses
The world of viruses. Strict parasitism, multiplication and transmission. Viral disease and the iceberg concept. Viral diversity and virome. The viral particle: dimensions, chemical composition, morphology and nomenclature. Functions of the capsid; stability and recognition. Chemical composition, structure and organization of the viral genome: structural and non-structural genes. The polarity of the nucleic acid. The viral cycle: extra- and intracellular phases. Viral multiplication: productive and non-productive infections. Sequential expression of viral genes. Viruses, mobile genetic elements and living things.
2. Origins of Virology
The hypotheses about the maintenance of life and spontaneous generation. Pasteur's work. Microscopic infectious agents and Koch postulates. The nineteenth century: the discovery of viruses. The tobacco mosaic: the concept of filterable poison. Discovery of animal viruses. 20th century: chemical, structural and genetic characterization of viruses. Relevant facts in the history of Virology. Smallpox eradication and the risk of re-emergence. Clinical and biotechnological aspects of Virology. Bioterrorism.
3. Structure of viral particles
Morphology of viral particles. Architectural study of viral particles: electron microscopy and three-dimensional reconstructions. X-ray diffraction: resolution level. Molecular architecture in helical and icosahedral symmetries. Trans-membrane proteins in viral envelopes. Receptor- binding sites. Viral antigens and epitopes B and T. Neutralization and evasion of neutralization. Genetic and epitopic variability.
4. Viral genetics and viral genomes
Diversity of viral genomes. Principle of economics and complexity of viral genomes; gene overlapping. Segmented and split genomes. Information encoding the viral genome. Viral genome types and gene expression and replication strategies; time-regulation strategies. The infectious clone. Principles of reverse genetics. Defective viruses.
5. Methods in Virology
Obtaining viral particles. Cell culture at small and medium scale. Purification. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of viral particles. Detection of viral components and applications in diagnostic methodology. The Virology laboratory: areas and distribution. Biological safety. Containment levels: P1 to P4. Air treatment. Effluent treatment.
6. Principles of viral taxonomy
First virus classifications: Baltimore classification of animal viruses. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses and the classification system. Viral properties used in taxonomy. Families of animal viruses and unclassified viruses. Nomenclature changes. Main human pathogens and their diseases.
7. Viral multiplication
Cell recognition. Nature and function of receptors. Internalization. Disassembly. Biosynthetic shutdown. Stimulation of cellular functions: papovaviruses and adenoviruses. RNA, DNA and viral protein synthesis: time sequences. Cytopathic effects. Exit of viral particles with and without lysis. Apoptosis. Cell transformation into RNA viruses: cellular oncogenes; activation and transduction. Cell transformation into DNA viruses: oncogenes and viral oncoproteins. Viral protein processing. Antiviral drug targets. Interfering RNA.
8. Pathogenesis of viral infections
\"Good\" viruses. Virus-host coexistence. Asymptomatic infections. Characteristics of viral infections. Entrance gates. Transmission routes: horizontal and vertical. Localized and systemic infections. Dissemination. Viremia. Nerve transmission. Target tissues: tropism. Acute and persistent infections. Dissemination. Viremia. Nerve transmission. Target tissues: tropism. Acute and persistent infections. Latent infections. Viral and non-viral factors influencing pathogenesis. Virulence. Evasion of the immune response by viruses. Immunopathology.
9. Response to viral infections and vaccines.
Types of vaccines; attenuated and inactivated. Molecular basis of attenuation. New generation vaccines. Recombinant vaccines and synthetic peptides. Vaccination with nucleic acids. New vectors in vaccines. SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Herd immunity. Innate and adaptive immune response. Sentinel cells, complement, inflammation, interferons. Communication between innate and adaptive response. Adaptive immune response: humoral and cellular. The importance of the antiviral cellular immune response. The bacterial immune system CRISPR / Cas.
10. Origin and evolution of viruses
Origin of viruses; regressive theories and those in favor of a cellular origin. Mechanisms for the generation of diversity. Mutation frequencies and relative abundance of mutants. Fixation of mutations. Viral replicases and fidelity of copy. Variability and evolution in RNA and retrovirus viruses. Viral quasi-species. Evolution and evolutionary potential. Darwinian and non-Darwinian selection of mutations. Foundational effects and bottlenecks.
11. New viral diseases and emerging viruses
Emergence of new viral diseases. Host jump and viral reservoirs. Viral emergency and re-emergence. Determining environmental, social and technological factors. Importance of arthropod vectors. The human species as a terminal host. New viruses and emerging viral diseases. Hemorrhagic fevers. Ebola virus and human immunodeficiency virus. The continuous re-emergence of the influenza virus.
12. The virome
The concept of virome and methods for its study. Viruses in the planet. The iceberg concept and the Global Virome Project. Acquisition of viruses in humans. Horizontal transmission of the viruses. The horizontal transmission of phenotypes. The human holobiont. The role of the virome in biology of the holobiont, in health and disease. Virome and sexuality.
13. Peculiar infectious agents
Prions: Infectious proteins. Development of the concept of prion. The amyloid. PrPc synthesis and processing. PrPsc formation and prion propagation. Spongiform encephalopathies:inheritance and infection. Phenotypic diversity of prions; the strains. \"Scrapie\" and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Interspecific barriers. Human spongiform encephalopathies: Kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome and hereditary diseases. Prions in yeast. Viroids: structure and constancy of domains. Possible mechanisms of pathogenesis. The Satellites. The delta hepatitis virus. Virophages.
14. Bacteriophages
Use of bacteriophages in molecular genetics and biotechnology. The \"phage display\". The generation of antibodies without immunization and the search for new ligands. Directed molecular evolution. Drug selection systems.
15. Artificial viruses
Viruses as new editable nanomaterials. Viral gene therapy; important features and biological risks. Gene therapy products on the market. Artificial viruses as alternatives to viral gene therapy. Types of artificial viruses and used biomolecules. Modular strategies. Selection of virus-inspired functional domains. Examples and applications of artificial viruses.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal study | 44 | 1.76 | CM09, CM10, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| Lectures | 30 | 1.2 | CM10, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| Preparation of oral and written presentation of reports | 2 | 0.08 | CM09, CM10, KM14, KM15, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| Active learning activities | 15 | 0.6 | CM09, KM15, SM13, SM14 |
| Literature search | 28 | 1.12 | CM09, CM10, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| Reading | 23 | 0.92 | CM09, CM10, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| Personal tutorial guidance sessions | 2 | 0.08 | CM10, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| Group work: preparation of written reports | 2 | 0.08 | CM09, CM10, KM14, KM15, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
The course will comprise classroom lectures and active learning activities with scientific problems and cases by which students will acquire skills necessary to perform literature research, propose experimental approaches, and design problem-solving strategies. Oral presentations of active learning activities will encourage teamwork, coordination of activities and rational presentation of work plans and results. Active learning activities will be focused on methodological aspects and biomedical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and nanotechnological applications of viruses as well as derived viral structures. Personal tutorial guidance sessions will be available by email appointment and will be held in the office C3/331. In those sessions, students will have the opportunity to receive individual guidance according to their needs.
In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed as an integral part of the development of the work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution of the student in the analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evaluation of 2 group assignements: written reports and oral presentations in situ or recorded | 30 % | 0 | 0 | CM09, CM10, KM14, KM15, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| Second Midterm exam: multiple choice | 15 % | 1 | 0.04 | CM10, KM14, KM15, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| Final exam: multiple choice | 40 % | 2 | 0.08 | CM10, KM14, KM15, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
| First midterm exam: multiple choice | 15 % | 1 | 0.04 | CM10, KM14, KM15, KM16, SM13, SM14 |
The evaluation will be done through 3 exams: two non-eliminatory partials and a final exam that will include the third partial and a synthesis/review part. The exams will be distributed during the course, with a total weight over the final qualification of 70% (15%, 15% and 40 % respectively). Furthermore, 30% of the qualification will be obtained through oral/audiovisual presentations of problems, resolution of classroom problems, or presentation of written exercises (in teams). For these activities (30%) no remedial test is programmed. All exams will evaluate the material taught during the period, both in theoretical classes and seminars. To pass the subject, you must obtain at least a 5 as a weighted grade on the multiple-choice exams. The exam will be conducted in the language in which the subject is taught.
The remedial exam will be a multiple-choice test, and it will have questions from the entire syllabus. The exam will be open to students who have failed in the global score of the subject, but also to those who want to improve their scores. Prior registration is required. Separate remedial exams for each part of the examination cannot be made. The remedial will cover the whole subject, and the score obtained will be that of the recovery exam (70%), regardless of the scores obtained in the previous exams. In compliance with article 112 ter point 2 of the current Academic Regulations of the UAB, to be eligible for the remedial test, students must have been previously evaluated in a set of activities equaling at least two-thirds of the final qualification of the course. Therefore, the students will obtain the \"No Avaluable\" qualification when the evaluation activities carried out have a weight lower than 67% in the final score.
For those who have voluntarily chosen the single evaluation, it will consist of a single multiple-choice exam in which the contents of the entire program of theory and seminars of the subject will be evaluated. The score obtained in this test will account for 70% of the final score. The single evaluation test will coincide in the calendar with the last test of the continuous evaluation, and the same make-up test will be applied. The evaluation of the seminars will follow the same process as the continuous evaluation, and the score obtained will represent 30% of the final score of the subject.
The commission of any irregularity in an assessment act (academic fraud, plagiarism or improper use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorized in the teaching guide), which may lead to a significant variation in the grade, means that this act will be graded with a 0. In the event that the teaching guide provides that in order to pass the subject it is an essential requirement to have obtained a minimum grade in this assessment act or that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject is 0. Apart from this, a disciplinary process may be initiated against the student who incurs any of these irregularities.
Bibliography
Books
- Almond, Jeffrey A. & Webster, Robert G. & Granoff, Allan & Almond, Jeffrey A. (1999). Encyclopedia of virology. (2nd ed.) Academic Press
Disponible online
- Almond, Jeffrey A. & Webster, Robert G. & Granoff, Allan & Almond, Jeffrey A. (1999). Encyclopedia of virology. (2nd ed.) Academic Press
Disponible at the library
- Cann, Alan. (2016). Principles of molecular virology. (6th ed.) Academic Press Disponible online
- Cann, Alan. (2015). Principles of molecular virology. (6th ed.) Elsevier / Academic Press Disponible at the library
- Dimmock, N. J. & Leppard, K. N. & Easton, A. J. (2016). Introduction to modern virology. (7th ed.) Wiley Disponible online
- Dimmock, N. J. & Leppard, K. N. & Easton, A. J. (2016). Introduction to modern virology. (7th ed.) John Wiley
Disponible at the library
- Domingo, Esteban. (2020). Virus as populations : composition, complexity, quasispecies, dynamics, and biological implications. (2nd ed.) Elsevier
Disponible at the library
- Domingo, Esteban. (2016). Virus as populations : composition, complexity, dynamics, and biological implications. (1st ed.) Academic Press
Disponible online
- Domingo, Esteban. ([2020]). Virus as populations : composition, complexity, quasispecies, dynamics, and biological implications. (2nd ed.) Academic Press
Disponible online
- Enquist, Lynn W. [i altres]. (2015). Principles of virology. (4th ed.) AMS Press Disponible online
- Flint, S. Jane [i altres]. (2020). Principles of virology. (5th ed.) John Wiley Disponible at the library
- Fong, I. W. (2017). Emerging zoonoses : A Worldwide Perspective. Springer International Publishing
Disponible online
- Ippolito, Giuseppe & Rezza, Giovanni. (2017). Emerging and re-emerging viral infections : advances in microbiology, infectious diseases and public health volume 6.Springer
Disponible online
- Knipe, David M. & Howley, Peter M. (2021-2024). Fields virology. (7th ed.) Wolters Kluwer Disponible at the library
- Pinsky, Benjamin [i altres]. (2016). Clinical virology manual. (5th ed.) ASM Press Disponible online
- Quesada, Emilia [i altres]. (2019). Microbiología esencial. Editorial Médica Panamericana Disponible online
- Rybicki, Edward P. (2023). Cann's Principles of Molecular Virology. (7th ed.) Academic Press Disponible online
- Tennant, Paula & Foster, Jerome E. & Fermin, Gustavo. (2018). Viruses : molecular biology, host interactions, and applications to biotechnology. Academic Press
Disponible online
- Zuckerman, Mark A. & Bamford, Dennis. (2021). Encyclopedia of Virology. (4th ed.) Academic Press Disponible online
Journals/ Databases
- National Library of Medicine (Estats Units d'Amèrica). MEDLINE. National Library of Medicine Disponible online
Software
No specific software is foreseen
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 72 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 721 | English | second semester | afternoon |