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A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a DNA copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell. [2] After invading a host cell's cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome, the reverse of the usual pattern, thus retro (backward).
The replication cycle of a retrovirus entails the insertion ("integration") of a DNA copy of the viral genome into the nuclear genome of the host cell. Most retroviruses infect somatic cells, but occasional infection of germline cells (cells that produce eggs and sperm) can also occur. Rarely, retroviral integration may occur in a germline cell ...
Identical LTR sequences at either end of a retrotransposon. A long terminal repeat (LTR) is a pair of identical sequences of DNA, several hundred base pairs long, which occur in eukaryotic genomes on either end of a series of genes or pseudogenes that form a retrotransposon or an endogenous retrovirus or a retroviral provirus.
So many endogenous retroviruses have inserted themselves into eukaryotic genomes that they allow insight into biology between viral-host interactions and the role of retrotransposons in evolution and disease. Many retrotransposons share features with endogenous retroviruses, the property of recognising and fusing with the host genome.
The reason that they are so useful is because their genomes are very simple and easy to use. Retroviruses have the ability to integrate into host cell genomes very well, which allows for the long term expression of their genome. One specific gammaretrovirus that is commonly used as a retroviral vector is the Moloney murine leukemia virus. [7] [9]
LTR retrotransposons have direct long terminal repeats that range from ~100 bp to over 5 kb in size. LTR retrotransposons are further sub-classified into the Ty1-copia-like (Pseudoviridae), Ty3-like (Metaviridae, formally referred to as Gypsy-like, a name that is being considered for retirement [4]), and BEL-Pao-like (Belpaoviridae) groups based on both their degree of sequence similarity and ...
A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme used to convert RNA genome to DNA, a process termed reverse transcription.Reverse transcriptases are used by viruses such as HIV, COVID-19, and hepatitis B to replicate their genomes, by retrotransposon mobile genetic elements to proliferate within the host genome, and by eukaryotic cells to extend the telomeres at the ends of their linear chromosomes.
Proviruses may account for approximately 8% of the human genome in the form of inherited endogenous retroviruses. [3] [4] A provirus not only refers to a retrovirus but is also used to describe other viruses that can integrate into the host chromosomes, another example being adeno-associated virus. Not only eukaryotic viruses integrate into the ...