Infection & ResponseDeep Dive
Why Viruses Need Host Cells
Part of Pathogens and Disease Transmission — GCSE Biology
This deep dive covers Why Viruses Need Host Cells within Pathogens and Disease Transmission for GCSE Biology. Types of pathogens, how diseases spread, transmission methods, and prevention strategies It is section 7 of 18 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 7 of 18
Practice
18 questions
Recall
20 flashcards
Why Viruses Need Host Cells
Viruses are fundamentally different from other pathogens because they are not complete living cells:
What viruses lack:
- Cellular machinery: No ribosomes to make proteins
- Metabolic enzymes: Cannot carry out chemical reactions on their own
- Cell membrane: Cannot control what enters or leaves
- Energy production: No mitochondria or other organelles
How viruses hijack host cells:
- Attachment: Virus binds to specific receptor proteins on host cell surface
- Entry: Virus injects its genetic material into the host cell
- Hijacking: Viral DNA/RNA takes control of the host cell's machinery
- Production: Host cell's ribosomes make viral proteins instead of normal proteins
- Assembly: New virus particles are assembled using host cell resources
- Release: New viruses burst out of the host cell, often killing it
This is why antibiotics don't work on viruses: Antibiotics target bacterial cell structures (like cell walls and bacterial ribosomes) that viruses simply don't have.