If the virus is a foreign invader, how is it possible for the proteins of its capsid to match the receptors on the host cell’s surface? Consider natural selection in your answer.

A single viral particle called virion is made up of genetic material surrounded by a protein shell called a capsid
Capsids can have different shapes,in some viruses the capsid itself is surrounded by a lipid envelope which is the protective outer coat of a virus
A virus identifies its host by fitting its surface proteins to receptor molecules on the surface of the host cell, like a key fitting a lock
General Pathways of Viral Infection includes a lytic infection which results in the lysis or breaking apart of the host cell and release of new viral particles
A lysogenic infection does not destroy the host cell
A lytic infection is an infection pathway in which the host cell bursts releasing the new viral offspring into the host’s system, where each then infects another cell
When the viral DNA enters the host cell, it takes over control of the host’s own DNA, turning on the genes necessary to copy the viral genes
Under direction of the viral genes, the host’s DNA undergoes transcription and translation, and produces capsids and enzymes
The enzymes then help in the copying of the virus’s DNA
Using energy from the host cell, the capsids and viral DNA assemble into new virions
In a lysogenic infection a phage combines its DNA into the host cell’s DNA
After entering the host cell, the viral DNA combines with the host’s DNA, forming a new set of genes called a prophage
A prophage is the phage DNA inserted into the host cell’s DNA. In organisms other than bacteria, this stage is called a provirus
The prophage is copied and passed to daughter cells, with the host’s own DNA, when the host cell undergoes mitosis