- published: 14 Mar 2015
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A picornavirus is a virus belonging to the family Picornaviridae. Picornaviruses are non-enveloped, positive-stranded RNA viruses with an icosahedral capsid. The genome RNA is unusual because it has a protein on the 5' end that is used as a primer for transcription by RNA polymerase. The name is derived from pico, meaning small, and RNA, referring to the ribonucleic acid genome, so "picornavirus" literally means small RNA virus.
Picornaviruses are separated into a number of genera and include many important pathogens of humans and animals. The diseases they cause are varied, ranging from acute "common-cold"-like illnesses, to poliomyelitis, to chronic infections in livestock. Additional species not belonging to any of the recognised genera continue to be described.
Picornaviruses are separated into a number of genera. Contained within the picornavirus family are many organisms of importance as vertebrate and human pathogens, shown in the table below.
Enteroviruses infect the enteric tract, which is reflected in their name. On the other hand, rhinoviruses infect primarily the nose and the throat. Enteroviruses replicate at 37°C, whereas rhinoviruses grow better at 33°C, as this is the lower temperature of the nose. Enteroviruses are stable under acid conditions and thus they are able to survive exposure to gastric acid. In contrast, rhinoviruses are acid-labile (inactivated or destroyed by low pH conditions) and that is the reason why rhinovirus infections are restricted to the nose and throat.