Abstract
Viruses are known to be abundant, ubiquitous, and to play a very important role in the health and evolution of life organisms. However, most biologists have considered them as entities separate from the realm of life and acting merely as mechanical artifacts that can exchange genes between different organisms. This article reviews some definitions of life organisms to determine if viruses adjust to them, and additionally, considers new discoveries to challenge the present definition of viruses. Definitions of life organisms have been revised in order to validate how viruses fit into them. Viral factories are discussed since these mini-organelles are a good example of the complexity of viral infection, not as a mechanical usurpation of cell structures, but as a driving force leading to the reorganization and modification of cell structures by viral and cell enzymes. New discoveries such as the Mimivirus, its virophage and viruses that produce filamentous tails when outside of their host cell, have stimulated the scientific community to analyze the current definition of viruses. One way to be free for innovation is to learn from life, without rigid mental structures or tied to the past, in order to understand in an integrated view the new discoveries that will be unfolded in future research. Life processes must be looked from the complexity and trans-disciplinarity perspective that includes and accepts the temporality of the active processes of life organisms, their interdependency and interrelation among them and their environment. New insights must be found to redefine life organisms, especially viruses, which still are defined using the same concepts and knowledge of the fifties.
Highlights
“Viruses are Viruses”, Lwoff made the most famous definition of viruses in 1957 (Lwoff 1957)
One might consider that these statements are in conflict; for this reason, viral characteristics, functions and their intimacy with the web of life led to the revision of some definitions of life organisms to determine if viruses adjust to them, and new discoveries are considered to challenge the present definition of viruses
Lwoff in 1957 wrote that the definition of viruses is somewhat arbitrary, and many definitions have been offered, in itself a proof of the difficulty of the task. He proposed to define viruses as strictly intracellular and potentially pathogenic entities, with an infectious phase, and possessing only one type of nucleic acid, multiplying in the form of their genetic material, unable to grow and to undergo binary fission and devoid of a “Lipmann system”. He stresses the noncellular nature of viruses, their dependence on host-cell metabolism and the fact that a specific material of a virus is reduced to an element of genetic material, its nucleic acid
Summary
“Viruses are Viruses”, Lwoff made the most famous definition of viruses in 1957 (Lwoff 1957). Viruses can modify elements of the host cell such as cell membranes and cytoskeletons, reorganizing them into very specialized structures that will serve as sites of viral replication (Kirkegaard & Jackson 2005, Novoa et al 2005, Knoops et al 2008).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
