Extract pages from Liu, Dongyou-Molecular detection of human viral pathogens-CRC Press (2011)
Recopilado por Carlos Cabrera Lozada. Miembro Correspondiente Nacional, ANM puesto 16. ORCID: 0000-0002-3133-5183. 06/12/2021
Classification, Genetic Contents, and Biology
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) belongs to the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily of Herpesviridae. Since CMV has very restricted host range, it is infective to one host but not the other. Human CMV (HCMV) is one of the eight human herpesviruses that cause diseases in human beings, and is officially called human herpesvirus 5 (HHV-5).
HCMV virion consists of the following four main structures that are common among herpesviruses: from the outside to the center, envelope (a lipid bilayer membrane with several glycoproteins), tegument (structure between envelope and capsid, consisting of more than 25 proteins), icosahedral capsid, and core containing the linear double-strand DNA genome.