2. The Baltimore classification system (named for the Nobel laureate David Baltimore) is one of several methods of categorizing viruses based on their methods of protein synthesis and nucleic acid replication. There are seven major viral categories under the Baltimore classification system,
A) Design a dichotomous key differentiating the seven viral categories from each other.
B) Single-stranded RNA viruses are divided into two categories—the sense, or +, strand, and the antisense, or -, strand. Explain the differences in how viral mRNA (necessary for the production of viral proteins) is synthesized between the two categories. (Figure 13.17 should be of assistance.)
C) Part of the Baltimore classification system is based on a discovery that led to Baltimore being awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1975. Describe the connection.
D) Which Baltimore viral category would you classify a virus with the unusual genetic material of a DNA strand attached to a RNA strand? Explain and defend your response.