Virus

Definition

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. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most numerous type of biological entity. 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, more than 16,000 of the millions of virus species have been described in detail. The study of viruses is known as virology, a subspeciality of microbiology.

Related concepts

1918 flu pandemic 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak AIDS Abiogenesis Acanthamoeba Aciclovir Acyclovir Adaptive immune system Adenoviridae Adenovirus Adnaviria Adult T-cell leukemia Aerosol Airborne transmission Alphasatellitidae Ambisense Ampullaviridae Ancient Greek André Lwoff Angola Animal Animal virus Antibiotic resistance Antibodies Antigen Antigen presentation Antigenic drift Antigenic shift Antigens Antiviral drug Antiviral drugs Anus Aphid Apicoplast Apoptosis Archaea Archaeal virus Arenavirus Artificial cell Asymptomatic carrier Atmosphere Atomic force microscopy Avian influenza Avsunviroidae B cell Bacteria Bacteriome Bacteriophage Bacteriophages Bacterivore Baltimore classification Barbara McClintock Barcode of Life Data System Bartholomeus Anglicus Bartogtaviriformidae Basaltiviridae Bicaudaviridae Bio-like structure Biological dark matter Biological pump Biological warfare Biologist Biotechnology Blood-borne disease Blood-sucking Bluetongue Bornavirus Brachygtaviriformidae Brome mosaic virus Burkitt's lymphoma CD4 CD4+CDNA COVID-19 COVID-19 pandemic CRISPR Caister Academic Press Calicivirus Cancer cell Canine parvovirus Capsicum Capsid Capsomere Carbon Carbon cycle Carbon sequestration Carl Zimmer Caulimoviridae Cell-mediated immunity Cell (biology)Cell biology Cell division Cell membrane Cell membranes Cell nucleus Cellulose Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cervix Chain termination Chemokine receptor Chickenpox Chlamydia (bacterium)Chloroplast Chlorovirus Chromoplast Chromosome Chronic (medical)Chronic fatigue syndrome Ciliate Circoviridae Circular chromosome Class (biology)Classical Latin Clavaviridae Clinical trials Clonally transmissible cancer Coacervate Cold sores Colicin Common cold Computer virus Coronavirus Cosmid Cowpea mosaic virus Crop yield Cross-species transmission Crystallization Curfews Cyanophages Cytokine Cytopathic effect Cytoplasm DNA DNA microarray DNA replication DNA transposon DNA virus Daniel Mazia David Baltimore Defective interfering particle Dendritic cells Dicer Dimer (chemistry)Dinodnavirus Direct-acting antivirals Diversity-generating retroelement Dmitri Ivanovsky Double-stranded RNA viruses DsDNA-RT virus DsDNA virus DsRNA virus Duplodnaviria Dye Earliest known life forms Earth Ebola virus disease Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa Ebolavirus Ecosystem Efunaviria Electron microscope Elizabeth Pennisi Emergent virus Encyclopedia of Life Endemic (epidemiology)Endocytosis Endogenous retrovirus Endogenous viral element Endoplasmic reticulum Endosymbiont Enterobacteria phage T4 Epidemic Epidemiology Episome Epstein–Barr virus Escherichia coli Escherichia virus MS2 Eukaryote Eurekaviridae Evolutionary history of life Extrachromosomal DNA Faecal–oral route Family (biology)Fertility factor (bacteria)Filoviridae Filovirus Floreoviria Fluorescence Foodchain Foot-and-mouth disease Fosmid Francevillian biota Frederick Twort Fungal prion Fungus Fuselloviridae Félix d'Herelle GM-CSF Gastroenteritis Geminiviridae Gene Gene duplication Gene therapy Gene transfer agent Genes Genetic diversity Genetic material Genetic recombination Genetics Genome Genomic island Genus Germline Gerontoplast Giant virus Global Biodiversity Information Facility Globuloviridae Glossary of virology Gp120 Group II intron Group I catalytic intron Guanosine Guttaviridae H5N1 HIV HIV-1 protease HIV/AIDS HPV infection Halspiviridae Halteria Harbor seal Harmful algal bloom HeLa Helix Helper dependent virus Helper virus Hepadnaviridae Hepadnavirus Hepatitis B virus Hepatitis C virus Hepatitis delta virus Hepatocellular carcinoma Herpes simplex Herpes simplex virus Herpesviridae Herpesvirus Hexagon Hexon protein History of virology Hodgkin's lymphoma Homeostasis Homologous recombination Horizontal gene transfer Horizontal transmission Host cell Host range Host specificity Huangdiviridae Human T-lymphotropic virus Human herpesvirus 6 Human papillomavirus Human virome Humoral immunity Hydrogenosome Hydroxyl INaturalist Icosahedral Icosahedral symmetry Immune privilege Immune response Immune system Immunity (medical)Immunocompromised Immunoglobulin G Immunoglobulin M Immunology Incertae sedis Incubation period Indo-European languages Infection Infectious agent Infectious dose Infectious period Influenza Influenza A virus Influenza virus Innate immune system Integrative and conjugative element Interferon International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses Interspersed repeat Introduction to viruses Intron Invertebrates Itzamnaviridae Jeewanu John Trevisa Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS Kaposi's sarcoma Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus Kappa organism Kingdom (biology)LUCA Lamivudine Last universal ancestor Last universal common ancestor Latin Law of declining virulence Leucocytes Leucoplast Life Life forms Linear chromosome Linnaean taxonomy Lipid Lipid bilayer fusion List of Ebola outbreaks List of epidemics List of virus families and subfamilies List of virus genera List of virus species Lomiviridae Lymphoproliferative disorders Lysis Lysogenic cycle MRNA Macrophage Marburg virus Marburgvirus Marine mammal Marine virus Martinus Beijerinck Mass noun Measles Megavirus Melanoma Merkel cell carcinoma Merkel cell polyomavirus Messenger RNA Metabolism Metaviridae Microbial dark matter Microbiology Microorganism Microparticle Middle East respiratory syndrome Mimiviridae Mimivirus Mitochondrion Mitosome Mobile genetic elements Mobilome Model lipid bilayer Molecular biology Molecular genetics Molecular self-assembly Molecule Mollivirus Morphology (biology)Multicellular organism Multiple sclerosis Mumps Mutate Mya Breitbart Mycoplasma laboratorium Mycovirus Naldaviricetes Nanobacterium Nanobe Nanometres Nanoparticle Nanotechnology Nasopharyngeal carcinoma National Center for Biotechnology Information National Geographic Society National Institutes of Health Natural killer cell Natural reservoir Natural selection Naval Research Laboratory Negative-sense Negative-sense ssRNA virus Negative staining Nematode Neo-Latin Neurology Neurotropic virus Nipumfusiviridae Nitric oxide Nitroplast Non-cellular life Non-coding DNA Norovirus Nucleic acid Nucleoid Nucleoprotein Nucleoside analogues Nutrient cycling Obelisk (biology)Obscuriviridae Oncolytic virus Oncovirus Optical microscope Order (biology)Organelle Organism Origin of life Origin of replication Orthocoronavirinae Orthomyxovirus Ovaliviridae Overlapping gene Paleovirology Pandemic Pandemic Severity Index Pandemics Pandoraviridae Pandoravirus Papillomavirus Parakaryon Parasitism Parvovirus Pathogen Pathogen transmission Patrick Forterre Penis Permissive cell Peter Palese Phage therapy Phage typing Phagemid Phocine distemper virus Phosphorus Phycodnaviridae Phylum Phylum (biology)Phytoplankton Picornavirus Plant Plant sap Plant virus Plasmaviridae Plasmid Plasmodesma Plastid Pleomorphism (microbiology)Pleomoviria Plural form of words ending in -us Point mutations Poison Polio Polydnaviriformidae Polymerase Polyomavirus Portogloboviridae Positive-sense Positive-sense ssRNA virus Pospiviroidae Potato virus Y Poxviridae Poxvirus Primary effusion lymphoma Prion Prokaryote Prophage Protease inhibitors Proteasome Protein Protein biosynthesis Proteinoid Protist Protocell Protozoa Provirus Proviruses Pseudoviridae Psychiatry Quarantine Quasispecies Quenching (fluorescence)R-factor RNA RNA-dependent RNA polymerase RNA-induced silencing complex RNA interference RNA processing RNA replicase RNA vaccine RNA virus RNA world Rabies Reactive oxygen species Realm (virology)Reassortment Receptor (biochemistry)Regular icosahedron Reovirus Repeated sequence (DNA)Repetitive DNA Replicon (genetics)Restriction endonucleases Retron Retroposon Retrotransposon Retroviridae Retroviroid Retrovirus Retrozyme Reverse transcribing viruses Reverse transcriptase Reverse transcriptase-related cellular gene Reverse transcription Rhabdovirus Rhizidiovirus Rhodogtaviriformidae Riboviria Ribozyme Ribozyviria Rickettsia Robert Horne (virologist)Rotavirus Rubella SARS SARS-CoV-2 SV40 Salicylic acid Salt (chemistry)Sanskrit Satellite (biology)Secondary chromosome Self-organisation Self-replication Sense (molecular biology)Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Sexual reproduction Sexually transmitted infection Shingles Singelaviria Smallest organisms Smallpox Smallpox virus Spanish flu Species Spiegelman's Monster Spiraviridae Spore Sputnik virophage SsDNA virus SsRNA-RT virus State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR Strain (biology)Sub-Saharan Africa Subviral agents Sulfolobales Sulphobes Synthetic virology T-Cells T4 phage TRIM21 T cells Talimogene laherparepvec Tandem repeat Telomerase reverse transcriptase Temperateness (virology)Thaspiviridae The New York Times Theory of virulence Thermophile Thermoproteales Thomas Milton Rivers Three-domain system Ti plasmid Tobacco mosaic virus Togavirus Tolecusatellitidae Transcription (genetics)Translation (genetics)Transmission electron microscope Transmission electron microscopy Transposable element Transposons Transpoviron Trophosome Tropical spastic paraparesis Tungsten Vaccination Vaccine Varicella zoster virus Varidnaviria Vector (epidemiology)Vector (molecular biology)Vendobionta Vertebrate Vertical transfer Vertical transmission Veterinary virology Viral disease Viral entry Viral envelope Viral evolution Viral hemorrhagic fever Viral hepatitis Viral metagenomics Viral replication Viral shedding Viral shunt Viral species Viral vector Viriform Virion Virocell Viroid Viroids Virology Virome Virophage Viroplasm Virotherapy Virovore Virulence Virulence factor Virus (disambiguation)Virus classification Virus latency Virus species Virus world hypothesis Virusoid Volvereviria Wendell Meredith Stanley Wikidata Wikispecies World Health Organization World Register of Marine Species World of RNA Wuhan Xenobot Xigoviridae Yamazakiviridae Yellow fever vaccine Yersinia pestis Zidovudine Zoonosis

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