Icerudivirus
Viral life cycle
Viral life cycle
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[thumb\|SIRV\-2 replication in *Sulfolobus islandicus*](/wiki/File:F29-03-9780123846846-Rudiviridae-Fig3-SIRV2-infection.png "F29-03-9780123846846-Rudiviridae-Fig3-SIRV2-infection.png")
SIRV2 recognizes its host by binding to type 4 pili abundantly present on the cell surface. The virus initially binds to the tip of the pilus and subsequently advances along the pilus to the cell surface, where the virion disassembles and the SIRV2 genome is internalized by an unknown mechanism. SIRV2 is a [lytic](/wiki/Lytic "Lytic") virus that kills the host cell as a consequence of elaborated mechanisms orchestrated by the virus. Massive degradation of the host [chromosomes](/wiki/Chromosomes "Chromosomes") occurs because of virus infection and virion assembly occurs in the [cytoplasm](/wiki/Cytoplasm "Cytoplasm"). Virions are released from the host cell through a mechanism that involves the formation of specific cellular structures.


What other mechanisms might a virus use to infect a host cell?