Virus Life Cycle

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites. Viruses must gain entry into target cells and usurp the host cellular machinery to produce a progeny virus. The multiple steps involved in the virus propagation occurring inside cells are collectively termed the “virus life cycle.” After entering the cell and localizing to an intracellular milieu, the virus sheds its capsid, transcribes its RNA, translates its RNA to the viral proteins, replicates its genome, assembles the viral components, and finally exits from the cell. Here, the steps involved in the virus life cycle are described with emphasis on entry and exit.