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Educator Resources

Overview

The SARS‑CoV‑2 virus and the disease it causes, COVID‑19, have had a huge toll on human lives and the economy worldwide. Understanding the biology of a virus, how it changes over time, how it is detected, and how to prevent disease is key to controlling its spread. These animations guide students through the process of viral infection and replication, the evolution of viruses, basic methods of viral detection, and how vaccination works, allowing students to apply biological concepts to a real-world scenario.

These animations are appropriate for general biology and introductory biology classes at the high school and college level.

Students should be able to view the animations and complete either worksheet within one 50-minute class period.

Key Concepts

  • Viruses with an RNA genome have their RNA translated into proteins by an infected cell.
  • Viruses hijack cellular machinery to make viral proteins, replicate, and spread to other cells.
  • Mutations are random and can have positive, negative, or no effects on viruses.
  • Mutations in the viral genome can be used to track how a virus is spreading through populations.
  • Diagnostic tests for viral infections can detect viral RNA, viral antigens, or antibodies the body has produced in response to the virus.
  • Vaccines protect from future disease by delivering antigens that trigger an immune response without causing an actual infection.
  • Vaccines can deliver a weakened or inactivated form of the virus, antigen proteins, or genetic instructions such as DNA or mRNA.

Prior Knowledge

Before watching the animations, students should have a basic understanding of:

  • what genetic mutations are
  • the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to proteins
  • the immune system

References

Bar-On, Yinon M., Avi Flamholz, Rob Phillips, and Ron Milo. “Science Forum: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by the numbers.” eLife 9 (2020): e57309. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.57309.

Cui, Jie, Fang Li, and Zheng-Li Shi. “Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses.” Nature Reviews Microbiology 17, 3 (2019): 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-018-0118-9.

Fehr, Anthony R., and Stanley Perlman. “Coronaviruses: An Overview of Their Replication and Pathogenesis.” In Coronaviruses: Methods and Protocols, eds. Helena J. Maier, Erica Bickerton, and Paul Birtton, 1–23. Vol. 1282 of Methods in Molecular Biology. New York: Humana Press, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2438-7_1.

Gordon, Calvin J., Egor P. Tchesnokov, Emma Woolner, Jason K. Perry, Joy Y. Feng, Danielle P. Porter, and Matthias Götte. “Remdesivir Is a Direct-Acting Antiviral That Inhibits RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 with High Potency.” Journal of Biological Chemistry 295, 20 (2020): 6785–6797. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.ra120.013679.

Khailany, Rozhgar A., Muhamad Safdar, and Mehmet Ozaslan. “Genomic characterization of a novel SARS-CoV-2.” Gene Reports 19 (2020): 100682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genrep.2020.100682.

Lan, Jun, Jiwan Ge, Jinfang Yu, Sisi Shan, Huan Zhou, Shilong Fan, Qi Zhang, et al. “Structure of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Receptor-Binding Domain Bound to the ACE2 Receptor.” Nature 581, 7807 (2020): 215–220. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2180-5.