science

Plasmaviridae

Plasmaviridae is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Plasmaviridae rather than just read about it. In short: Plasmaviridae is a family of bacteria-infecting viruses. Acholeplasma species serve as natural hosts.

Key takeaways

Plasmaviridae belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Plasmaviridae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Plasmaviridae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Plasmaviridae is a family of bacteria-infecting viruses. Acholeplasma species serve as natural hosts. There is one genus in the family, Plasmavirus, which contains one species: Acholeplasma phage L2 (Plasmavirus L2). All viruses known in this family have been isolated from species in the class Mollicutes. This family is poorly studied and little is known about the diversity and biology of these viruses.

Taxonomy The family has one genus, Plasmavirus, which has one recognized member: Acholeplasma phage L2 (Plasmavirus L2). There are five tentative members of Plasmavirus:

Mycoplasmatales virus-laidlawii 1 (L1) Mycoplasmatales virus-laidlawii 2 (L2) Mycoplasmatales virus-laidlawii 3 (L3) Mycoplasmatales virus-laidlawii 51 (L51) Mycoplasmatales virus-laidlawii O1 (O1)

Genome The genome is condensed, nonsegmented and consists of a single molecule of circular, supercoiled double-stranded DNA, 12 kilobase pairs in length. The genome has a rather high G-C content of ~32%. The genome has 14 open reading frames, and encodes at least 15 proteins, of which at least two are structural proteins embedded in the envelope.

Structure Virions are quasi-spherical, slightly pleomorphic, enveloped and about 80 nm (range 50–125 nm) in diameter.

Life cycle Viral replication is cytoplasmic. DNA-templated transcription is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by budding. Acholeplasma species serve as the natural host.

Infection A productive infectious cycle begins before a lysogenic cycle establishes the virus in the infected bacteria. After initial infection of the viral genome the virus may become latent within the host. Lysogeny involves integration into the host chromosome.

References

External links ICTV Report Plasmaviridae Viralzone: Plasmaviridae

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Plasmaviridae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Plasmaviridae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Plasmaviridae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Plasmaviridae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Plasmaviridae

In research: Plasmaviridae appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Plasmaviridae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Plasmaviridae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bacteriophages, Plasmaviridae, Virus families, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Plasmaviridae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Plasmaviridae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Plasmaviridae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Plasmaviridae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Plasmaviridae in simple terms?

Plasmaviridae is a family of bacteria-infecting viruses. Acholeplasma species serve as natural hosts.

Why does Plasmaviridae matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Plasmaviridae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Plasmaviridae.