Viruses are extremely small infectious particles that are not visible in a light microscope, and
are able to pass through fine porcelain filters. They exist in a huge variety of forms and
infect practically all living systems: animals, plants, insects and bacteria. All viruses have a
genome, typically only one type of nucleic acid, but it could be one or several molecules of
DNA or RNA, which is surrounded by a protective stable coat (capsid) and sometimes by
additional layers which may be very complex and contain carbohydrates, lipids, and
additional proteins. The viruses that have only a protein coat are named “naked”, or non-
enveloped viruses. Many viruses have an envelope (enveloped viruses) that wraps around
the protein capsid. This envelope is formed from a lipid membrane of the host cell during
the release of a virus out of the cell
