| A | B |
|---|
| Structural biology | subnanometer organization |
| Non-cellular biology | Viruses, Viroids, and Prions |
| Viruses | Cannot self-replicate; require machinery of host cell |
| Viruses are Surrounded by protein coat | lipid envelope (some) |
| First discovered | Tobacco Mosaic Virus, late 1800s |
| ‘Sick sap’ infects | tobacco plant, no visible agent |
| Viruses must infect a host cell | to grow and reproduce. |
| Viroids | Short, circular ssRNA lacking protein coat |
| Prions | Pathogenic protein molecules |
| Prions are very | strange (scary)! |
| Understanding mainly developed over the past 200 years | The Cell Theory |
| Genetic techniques critical part of | cell bio |
| Conservation of function/structure across all phyla; | allows for use of model systems |
| The range of “life” extends beyond cells: | viruses, virions, prions. |
| Prions defy | the ‘central dogma’ of molecular biology. |
