virion /vi·ri·on/ (vi´re-on) the complete viral particle, found extracellularly and capable of surviving in crystalline form and infecting a living cell; it comprises the nucleoid (genetic material) and the capsid.
virion
virion (vir´ēon, vī´rē-),
vi·ri·on (v  r - n , vîr-)n. A complete viral particle, consisting of RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein shell and constituting the infective form of a virus. |
virion
[vir′ē·on, vī′rē·on]
Etymology: L, virus, poison
a single virus particle with a central nucleoid surrounded by a protein coat or capsid. The complete nucleocapsid with a nucleic acid core may constitute a complete virus, such as the adenoviruses and the picornaviruses, or it may be surrounded by an envelope, as in the herpesviruses and the myxoviruses. Such an envelope is a membrane that contains lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates and projects spikelike structures from its surface. See also capsid.
virion (vir´ēon, vī´rē-),
n the whole virus, including the inner nucleus and the outer shell.
virion
a complete virus particle, found extracellularly and capable of surviving in metabolically inert form and able to infect other living cells. Minimally viruses are composed of a core of genetic material which may be either RNA or DNA, single- or double-stranded surrounded by a protein coat (capsid) which together constitute a nucleocapsid. Additionally some viruses have a lipoprotein envelope that surrounds the nucleocapsid.
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