''Varicellovirus'' (var′i-sel′ō-vi′rŭs) is a genus of
viruses
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 ...
belonging to subfamily ''
Alphaherpesvirinae
''Alphaherpesvirinae'' is a subfamily of viruses in the family ''Herpesviridae'', primarily distinguished by reproducing more quickly than other subfamilies in the ''Herpesviridae''. In animal virology the most important herpesviruses belong to ...
'', a member of family ''
Herpesviridae
''Herpesviridae'' is a large family of DNA viruses that cause infections and certain diseases in animals, including humans. The members of this family are also known as herpesviruses. The family name is derived from the Greek word ''ἕρπει ...
''. Humans and other mammals serve as natural hosts. There are 19 species in this genus. Diseases associated with this genus include: HHV-3—chickenpox (varicella) and shingles; BoHV-1—infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis (IPV); SuHV-1 (also known as
pseudorabies
Aujeszky's disease, usually called pseudorabies in the United States, is a viral disease in swine that has been endemic in most parts of the world. It is caused by ''Suid herpesvirus 1'' (SuHV-1). Aujeszky's disease is considered to be the mos ...
virus)—
Aujesky's disease characterized by central nervous system signs (hindleg paralysis, meningoencephalitis), high mortality rates in young animals, and respiratory illness in older pigs.
Species
The genus consists of the following 19 species:
* ''
Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1
''Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1'' (BoHV-1) is a virus of the family ''Herpesviridae'' and the subfamily ''Alphaherpesvirinae'', known to cause several diseases worldwide in cattle, including rhinotracheitis, vaginitis, balanoposthitis, abortion, c ...
''
* ''
Bovine alphaherpesvirus 5''
* ''
Bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1''
* ''
Canid alphaherpesvirus 1''
* ''
Caprine alphaherpesvirus 1''
* ''
Cercopithecine alphaherpesvirus 9''
* ''
Cervid alphaherpesvirus 1''
* ''
Cervid alphaherpesvirus 2''
* ''
Cervid alphaherpesvirus 3''
* ''
Equid alphaherpesvirus 1''
* ''
Equid alphaherpesvirus 3''
* ''
Equid alphaherpesvirus 4''
* ''
Equid alphaherpesvirus 8''
* ''
Equid alphaherpesvirus 9''
* ''
Felid alphaherpesvirus 1''
* ''
Human alphaherpesvirus 3''
* ''
Monodontid alphaherpesvirus 1''
* ''
Phocid alphaherpesvirus 1''
* ''
Suid alphaherpesvirus 1''
Structure
As with other
alphaherpesviruses, the virus particle has a layered structure: Virions consist of an
envelope
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card.
Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one of three shapes: a rhombus, a sh ...
, a
tegument, a
nucleocapsid, and a core.
Tegument is disordered; they do not display a structure and proteins in variable amounts are arranged sometimes in an asymmetric layer located between envelope and capsid. The viral capsid is contained within a spherical envelope which is 120–200 nm in diameter. Surface projections on envelope (viral
receptors
Receptor may refer to:
*Sensory receptor, in physiology, any structure which, on receiving environmental stimuli, produces an informative nerve impulse
*Receptor (biochemistry), in biochemistry, a protein molecule that receives and responds to a n ...
) are densely dispersed and contain small spikes that evenly dot the surface.
The capsid/nucleocapsid is round with
triangulation number T=16 and exhibits
icosahedral
In geometry, an icosahedron ( or ) is a polyhedron with 20 faces. The name comes and . The plural can be either "icosahedra" () or "icosahedrons".
There are infinitely many non- similar shapes of icosahedra, some of them being more symmetrica ...
symmetry. The capsid is isometric and has a diameter of 100–110 nm.
The capsid consists of 162 capsomer proteins with a hexagonal base and a hole running halfway down the long axis. The core consists of a fibrillar spool on which the DNA is wrapped. The end of the fibers are anchored to the underside of the capsid shell. It is a double-stranded enveloped DNA virus
Life cycle
Viral replication is nuclear, and is lysogenic. Entry into the host cell is achieved by attachment of the viral glycoproteins to host receptors, which mediates endocytosis. Replication follows the dsDNA bidirectional replication model. DNA-templated transcription, with some alternative splicing mechanism is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by nuclear egress, and budding.
Humans and mammals serve as the natural host.
Only one member of the Varicellovirus genus,
Varicella zoster virus
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), also known as human herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3, HHV3) or ''Human alphaherpesvirus 3'' (taxonomically), is one of nine known herpes viruses that can infect humans. It causes chickenpox (varicella) commonly affecting chil ...
(HHV-3) infects ''
Homo sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
'' (humans).
References
External links
Virus Pathogen Database and Analysis Resource (ViPR): ''Herpesviridae''ICTV
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1449514
Virus genera