Answer:
- The virus binds to a receptor on a human cell’s membrane.
- The virus releases its RNA genome into the cell.
- The virus’s RNA is translated into proteins by the cell’s ribosomes.
- Viral RNA polymerase helps transcribe more copies of the virus’s RNA.
- New viruses travel to the cell membrane of the infected cell and are released outside the cell.
Explanation:
Coronaviruses are viruses from the family Coronaviridae (Order Nidovirales), which are structurally composed of positive-sense single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) genomes with a size of approximately 25 to 33 kilobases. Since the coronavirus genome consists of an ssRNA, they can be directly translated into protein inside infected host cells. The coronavirus that has caused the recent pandemic can enter into host cells through its spike (S) glycoprotein which binds to the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. Subsequently, this virus exploits the host molecular machinery to encode an RNA polymerase which is used to generate RNA from an RNA template. Finally, these RNAs are translated into all viral components (structural proteins) and new viruses are recruited to infected cells.
