Tag Archives: Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Measles virus, a human pathogen, is in the genus Morbillivirus. It is an enveloped, single-stranded, non-segmented, negative-sense RNA virus. Its virions are pleomorphic (roughly spherical) in shape with a diameter of 300–500 nm. Parainfluenza and mumps viruses are within the genus Paramyxovirus, and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and metapneumovirus are within the genus Pneumovirus.

Papillomaviruses are double-stranded DNA viruses with a particle diameter of about 55 nanometers (nm). They can infect the skin as well as the epithelium in all vertebrates including humans. Warts are a common form of HPV infection. Certain types of HPV can also cause carcinomas including those of the male (penis) and female (cervix) genitalia.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore have recently found a revolutionary method to grow human norovirus (HuNoV) in zebrafish embryos (1). HuNoV, a common and worldwide cause of acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis, has been refractory to culture in vitro as well as in vivo. The use of zebrafish embryos for HuNoV culture promises to an important breakthrough.