Machupo virus

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Classification

Group: Group V ((-)ssRNA); Family: Arenaviridae; Genus: Arenavirus; Species: Machupo Virus

Description and Significance

Machupo virus is a virus from the Arenaviridae family and is the cause of Bolivian hemorrhagic fever (BHF), also known as Black Typhus or Ordog Fever. It was first identified in 1959 by a research group from the National Institutes of Health, led by Karl Johnson. Like some of the other New World Arenaviruses, infection by Machupo virus causes hemorragic fever syndromes and are spread by rodents. [1]

Structure, Metabolism, and Life Cycle

Machupo Virus is a spherical and pleomorphic virus, with a diameter ranging from 50 to 300 nm in length (average of 120nm). It has a single-stranded and bi-segmented RNA genome, and the virus contains ribosomes that give it a sandy appearance under electron microscopy. The virus is enclosed in a dense, lipid-containing envelope with 8-10 nm long club-shaped projections around the outside. [1]

Interesting features of its structure; how it gains energy (how it replicates, if virus); what important molecules it produces (if any), does it have an interesting life cycle?

Ecology and Pathogenesis

Natural habitat (soil, water, commensal of humans or animals?)
If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, or plant hosts? Important virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.

References

[1] Public Health Agency of Canada: Machupo Virus Pathogen Safety Data Sheet, http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/machupo-eng.php, Date Modified: 2011-02-18.

[2] F.A. Murphy et al. (1969, October). Morphological Comparison of Machupo with Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus: Basis for New Taxonomic Group, Journal of Virology 4(4), pp 535-541. Retrieved from http://jvi.asm.org/content/4/4/535.full.pdf

Author

Page authored by Shane Sontag, student of Mandy Brosnahan, Instructor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, MICB 3301/3303: Biology of Microorganisms.