NAPLEX Practice Question # 82

The envelope of an enveloped virus is derived from which of the following sources?

(A) The viral capsomeres
(B) The host cell membrane
(C) The viral matrix proteins
(D) The 80S ribosome
(E) The retroviral reverse transcriptase

bio_microrganism_graphik_1

bio_microrganism_graphik_1

Maturation and release. Association of the viral genome with viral proteins (capsid and accessory proteins) to assemble the virion particle typically occurs in the cytoplasm, the nucleus, or at the cytoplasmic membrane. Nonenveloped viruses are usually released after the host cell lyses.

Enveloped viruses assemble at a host cell membrane, usually the cytoplasmic membrane, and then exit the host cell by budding through the membrane, which creates the associated membrane envelope.