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Virusoid
Virusoids are circular single-stranded RNA(s) dependent on viruses for DNA replication, replication and encapsidation. The genome of virusoids consist of several hundred (200–400) nucleotides and does not code for any proteins. Virusoids are essentially viroids that have been encapsulated by a helper virus coat protein. They are thus similar to viroids in their means of replication (rolling circle replication) and in their lack of genes, but they differ in that viroids do not possess a protein coat. Both virusoids and viroids encode a hammerhead ribozyme. Virusoids, while being studied in virology, are Virus classification#Subviral agents, subviral particles rather than viruses. Since they depend on helper viruses, they are classified as satellite (biology), satellites. Virusoids are listed in virus classification, virological taxonomy as Satellites/Satellite nucleic acids/Subgroup 3: Circular satellite RNA(s). Definition Depending on whether a lax or strict definition i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hammerhead Ribozyme
The hammerhead ribozyme is an RNA motif that catalyzes reversible cleavage and ligation reactions at a specific site within an RNA molecule. It is one of several catalytic RNAs (ribozymes) known to occur in nature. It serves as a model system for research on the Nucleic acid structure, structure and properties of RNA, and is used for targeted RNA cleavage experiments, some with proposed therapeutic applications. Named for the resemblance of early secondary structure diagrams to a hammerhead shark, hammerhead ribozymes were originally discovered in two classes of plant virus-like RNAs: Satellite (biology), satellite RNAs and viroids. They are also known in some classes of Retrotransposon, retrotransposons, including the Retrozyme, retrozymes. The hammerhead ribozyme motif has been ubiquitously reported in lineages across the tree of life. The self-cleavage reactions, first reported in 1986, are part of a rolling circle replication mechanism. The hammerhead sequence is sufficient fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virus Classification
Virus classification is the process of naming viruses and placing them into a taxonomic system similar to the classification systems used for cellular organisms. Viruses are classified by phenotypic characteristics, such as morphology, nucleic acid type, mode of replication, host organisms, and the type of disease they cause. The formal taxonomic classification of viruses is the responsibility of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) system, although the Baltimore classification system can be used to place viruses into one of seven groups based on their manner of mRNA synthesis. Specific naming conventions and further classification guidelines are set out by the ICTV. A catalogue of all the world's known viruses has been proposed and, in 2013, some preliminary efforts were underway. Definitions Species definition Species form the basis for any biological classification system. Before 1982, it was thought that viruses could not be made to fit Ernst Mayr's r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satellite (biology)
A satellite is a subviral agent that depends on the coinfection of a host cell with a helper virus for its replication. Satellites can be divided into two major classes: satellite viruses and satellite nucleic acids. Satellite viruses, which are most commonly associated with plants, are also found in mammals, arthropods, and bacteria. They encode structural proteins to enclose their genetic material, which are therefore distinct from the structural proteins of their helper viruses. Satellite nucleic acids, in contrast, do not encode their own structural proteins, but instead are encapsulated by proteins encoded by their helper viruses. The genomes of satellites range upward from 359 nucleotides in length for satellite tobacco ringspot virus RNA (STobRV). Most viruses have the capability to use host enzymes or their own replication machinery to independently replicate their own viral RNA. Satellites, in contrast, are completely dependent on a helper virus for replication. The s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virus Classification
Virus classification is the process of naming viruses and placing them into a taxonomic system similar to the classification systems used for cellular organisms. Viruses are classified by phenotypic characteristics, such as morphology, nucleic acid type, mode of replication, host organisms, and the type of disease they cause. The formal taxonomic classification of viruses is the responsibility of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) system, although the Baltimore classification system can be used to place viruses into one of seven groups based on their manner of mRNA synthesis. Specific naming conventions and further classification guidelines are set out by the ICTV. A catalogue of all the world's known viruses has been proposed and, in 2013, some preliminary efforts were underway. Definitions Species definition Species form the basis for any biological classification system. Before 1982, it was thought that viruses could not be made to fit Ernst Mayr's r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1892 article describing a non-bacterial pathogen infecting tobacco plants and the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898,Dimmock p. 4 more than 9,000 virus species have been described in detail of the millions of types of viruses in the environment. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most numerous type of biological entity. The study of viruses is known as virology, a subspeciality of microbiology. When infected, a host cell is often forced to rapidly produce thousands of copies of the original virus. When not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent particles, or ''virions'', consisting of (i) the genetic material, i. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SnRNP
snRNPs (pronounced "snurps"), or small nuclear ribonucleoproteins, are RNA-protein complexes that combine with unmodified pre-mRNA and various other proteins to form a spliceosome, a large RNA-protein molecular complex upon which splicing of pre-mRNA occurs. The action of snRNPs is essential to the removal of introns from pre-mRNA, a critical aspect of post-transcriptional modification of RNA, occurring only in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. Additionally, '' U7 snRNP'' is not involved in splicing at all, as U7 snRNP is responsible for processing the 3′ stem-loop of histone pre-mRNA. The two essential components of snRNPs are protein molecules and RNA. The RNA found within each snRNP particle is known as ''small nuclear RNA'', or snRNA, and is usually about 150 nucleotides in length. The snRNA component of the snRNP gives specificity to individual introns by " recognizing" the sequences of critical splicing signals at the 5' and 3' ends and branch site of introns. The snRN ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hammerhead Ribozyme Ribbons
Hammerhead may refer to: * The head of a hammer Fiction * Hammerhead (comics), a Marvel Comics foe of Spider-Man * ''Hammerhead'' (film), a 1968 film based on the novel by James Mayo * '' Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy'' a 2005 TV movie starring William Forsythe, Jeffery Combs and Hunter Tylo * ''Hammerhead'' (1987 film), a 1987 Italian action film directed by Enzo G. Castellari * ''Hammerhead'' (novel), a 1964 Charles Hood secret agent novel by James Mayo * Hammerhead Hannigan, the leader of Taurus Bulba's henchmen in the television cartoon series ''Darkwing Duck'' * Hammerhead, a Rulon character from the TV cartoon ''Dino-Riders'' * Hammerhead, the nickname for the ''Star Wars'' character Momaw Nadon * ''Hammerheads'', a 1990 book by Dale Brown * The Hammerhead, an alien species living on Pandora in James Cameron's science-fiction film ''Avatar'' * '' James Bond 007: Hammerhead'', a 2016 James Bond comic book by Dynamite Entertainment Games and rides * Hammerhead, a h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-splicing Intron
Group I introns are large self-splicing ribozymes. They catalyze their own excision from mRNA, tRNA and rRNA precursors in a wide range of organisms. The core secondary structure consists of nine paired regions (P1-P9). These fold to essentially two domains – the P4-P6 domain (formed from the stacking of P5, P4, P6 and P6a helices) and the P3-P9 domain (formed from the P8, P3, P7 and P9 helices). The secondary structure mark-up for this family represents only this conserved core. Group I introns often have long open reading frames inserted in loop regions. Catalysis Splicing of group I introns is processed by two sequential transesterification reactions. The exogenous guanosine or guanosine nucleotide (''exoG'') first docks onto the active G-binding site located in P7, and its 3'-OH is aligned to attack the phosphodiester bond at the 5' splice site located in P1, resulting in a free 3'-OH group at the upstream exon and the exoG being attached to the 5' end of the intron. Then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endonuclease
Endonucleases are enzymes that cleave the phosphodiester bond within a polynucleotide chain. Some, such as deoxyribonuclease I, cut DNA relatively nonspecifically (without regard to sequence), while many, typically called restriction endonucleases or restriction enzymes, cleave only at very specific nucleotide sequences. Endonucleases differ from exonucleases, which cleave the ends of recognition sequences instead of the middle (endo) portion. Some enzymes known as "exo-endonucleases", however, are not limited to either nuclease function, displaying qualities that are both endo- and exo-like. Evidence suggests that endonuclease activity experiences a lag compared to exonuclease activity. Restriction enzymes are endonucleases from eubacteria and archaea that recognize a specific DNA sequence. The nucleotide sequence recognized for cleavage by a restriction enzyme is called the restriction site. Typically, a restriction site will be a palindromic sequence about four to six nucleotides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetrahymena Thermophila
''Tetrahymena thermophila'' is a species of Ciliophora in the family Tetrahymenidae. It is a free living protozoa and occurs in fresh water. There is little information on the ecology and natural history of this species, but it is the most widely known and widely studied species in the genus ''Tetrahymena''. The species has been used as a model organism for molecular and cellular biology. It has also helped in the discovery of new genes as well as help to understand the mechanisms of certain genes functions. Studies on this species have contributed to major discoveries in biology. For example, the MAT locus found in this species has provided a foundation for the evolution of mating systems. The species was first considered to be ''Tetrahymena pyriformis''. '' T. malaccensis'' is the closest relative to''T. thermophila''. Characteristics It is about 50 μm long. One famous trait this species is known for is that has 7 different mating types, unlike most eukaryotic organi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avsunviroidae
The ''Avsunviroidae'' are a family of viroids. There are four species in three genera (''Avsunviroid'', ''Elaviroid'' and ''Pelamoviroid''). They consist of RNA genomes between 246 and 375 nucleotides in length. They are single-stranded covalent circles and have intramolecular base pairing. All members lack a central conserved region. Replication Replication occurs in the chloroplasts of plant cells. Key features of replication include no helper virus required and no proteins are encoded for. Unlike the other family of viroids, ''Pospiviroidae'', ''Avsunviroidae'' are thought to replicate via a symmetrical rolling mechanism. It is thought the positive RNA strand acts as a template to form negative strands with the help of an enzyme thought to be RNA polymerase plus 3 II. The negative RNA strands are then cleaved by ribozyme activity and circularises. A second rolling circle mechanism forms a positive strand which is also cleaved by ribozyme activity and then ligated to become ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
