Not-So-Fun Fact: This particular organism is currently wreaking havoc in
Common Name: Zaire
Scientific Name: Ebolavirus zaire
Ebola is known
to be a virus. The classification of a virus as an organism is currently being
debated among biologists and taxonomists. The taxonomy pertaining to Zaire
Ebolavirus is listed below, after the grouping Virus.
Class: ssRNA negative-strand viruses
Order: Mononegavirales
Family: Filoviridae
Genus: Ebolavirus
Species: E. zaire
Description: The virus itself is encapsulated by a
membrane built from the stolen cell membrane of its parent’s host cell. Inside
this membrane is a set of nuclear proteins and a single string of RNA—the
precursor to DNA —which documents the virus’s
genetic code. The viral capsule measures 920 nanometers in length and 80
nanometers in diameter.
Environment: Ebolavirus must inhabit a host animal.
It is found in the host’s bodily fluids. Its natural host is the fruit bat of
the Pteropodidae family, but primates, including humans, have become
accidental hosts. Many other animals have also been found to carry Ebola Virus
Disease.
Reproduction & Development: Ebolavirus
reproduces by invading an animal cell and stealing phospholipids and proteins
to duplicate itself. The new ebolavirus units escape into the rest of the host
to do the same to other cells. In humans the incubation period of Ebola is 2-21
days.
Nutrition: Ebola, like many viruses, feeds off of
its host. It steals material from the cells of its host to help itself grow and
replicate. The host cell’s cell membrane is especially damaged in the virus’s
feeding frenzy.
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