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New page: A '''retrovirus''' is a virus in the family ''Retroviridae''. While most virii use DNA to store genetic information, a retrovirus uses RNA. Because the infected cell will only ...
A '''retrovirus''' is a [[virus]] in the family ''Retroviridae''. While most virii use [[DNA]] to store genetic information, a retrovirus uses [[RNA]]. Because the infected cell will only replicate the retrovirus' genes if they are also DNA, the virus must rely on [[reverse transcriptase]] to [[transcribe]] its RNA into DNA and then insert it into the host [[genome]]. The retrovirus has significant clinical importance since [[HIV]], which causes [[AIDS]], is a retrovirus.
The retrovirus consists of a [[protein]] [[capsid]], base, RNA genome, and the reverse transcriptase. Since RNA is never coded back into DNA in an uninfected cell there is no endogenous reverse transcriptase in the cytoplasm. The retrovirus must bring it with it. The discovery of reverse transcriptase in retroviruses has been a major boon for the biomedical industry where conversion of RNA to DNA is used in many genetic treatments and research.
Reverse transcriptase is prone to making errors in transcription. Sometimes these errors will inactivate the retrovirus' genes and the host cell will not produce new virii. These mutated strands of retrovirus DNA are still integrated in the host genome. In some cases in a multicellular organism this will be in a [[germ line]] cell. This means that the any offspring created from that germ line cell will have the inactivated retrovirus gene in its genome. These are referred to as [[endogenous retroviral insertions], it has been estimated that up to 10 percent of the human genome consists of these types of inserts. These insertions have recently become important in constructing [[phylogenetic tree]]s.
The retrovirus consists of a [[protein]] [[capsid]], base, RNA genome, and the reverse transcriptase. Since RNA is never coded back into DNA in an uninfected cell there is no endogenous reverse transcriptase in the cytoplasm. The retrovirus must bring it with it. The discovery of reverse transcriptase in retroviruses has been a major boon for the biomedical industry where conversion of RNA to DNA is used in many genetic treatments and research.
Reverse transcriptase is prone to making errors in transcription. Sometimes these errors will inactivate the retrovirus' genes and the host cell will not produce new virii. These mutated strands of retrovirus DNA are still integrated in the host genome. In some cases in a multicellular organism this will be in a [[germ line]] cell. This means that the any offspring created from that germ line cell will have the inactivated retrovirus gene in its genome. These are referred to as [[endogenous retroviral insertions], it has been estimated that up to 10 percent of the human genome consists of these types of inserts. These insertions have recently become important in constructing [[phylogenetic tree]]s.