Coursera - Virology I - How Viruses Work

Introductory virology course emphasizing the common reactions that must be completed by all viruses for successful reproduction within a host cell. This introductory virology course emphasizes the common reactions that must be completed by all viruses for successful reproduction within a host cell and survival and spread within a host population. The molecular basis of alternative reproductive cycles are presented with examples drawn from a set of representative animal and human viruses, although selected bacterial viruses will be discussed.

This offering has been a top-ten iTunes U Course in sciences pretty much since its release in 2012, with over 80,000 subscriptions. The course will be ported to the Coursera platform in two parts and will allow interested online students to take the course as a cohort for the first time.

Course Syllabus

Week 1
- Welcome to virology
- What is a virus?
- Viruses then and now

Week 2
- The infectious cycle
- Assay of viral infectivity
- Measurement of virions and their components
- Revolutionary methods
- One-step growth cycle

Week 3
- The Baltimore scheme
- DNA virus genomes
- RNA virus genomes
- Viral genetics

Week 4
- Structure
- The tools of structural virology
- Helical symmetry
- Icosahedral symmetry
- Enveloped virions
- Complex virions

Week 5
- Attachment to cells
- Entry into cells
- Acid-catalyzed fusion
- A new paradigm for entry
- Entry of non-enveloped virions
- Entering the nucleus

Week 6
- Viral RNA synthesis
- RNA polymerization
- Plus strand RNA synthesis
- Negative strand RNA synthesis
- RNA synthesis of dsRNA genomes
- RNA synthesis as a source of diversity

Week 7
- DNA basics
- Lessons from SV40
- Priming via DNA or protein
- Viral origins
- Big DNA viruses
- Regulation of DNA synthesis

Week 8
- Transcription
- Initiation of transcription
- Viral transcription regulation
- Capping and polyadenylation
- Pre-mRNA splicing

Week 9
- Reverse transcriptase
- Retroviruses
- Reverse transcription
- Integration
- The provirus
- Hepatitis B virus

Week 10
- End-dependent initiation of protein synthesis
- Other decoding mechanisms
- One mRNA, one protein?
- Maximizing coding capacity of the viral genome
- Regulation of translation: eIF2alpha
- How viruses regulate cell translation
- MicroRNAs

Week 11
- Principles of virion assembly
- Getting to the right place
- Making sub-assemblies
- Concerted assembly: Budding
- Genome packaging
- Acquisition of an envelope and egress

Recommended Background
Two semesters of a rigorous, molecularly-oriented introductory biology course.