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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 genetic material of a virus is stored within a viral protein structure called the capsid. The capsid is a "shield" that protects the viral nucleic acids from getting degraded by host enzymes or other types of pesticides or pestilences. It also functions to attach the virion to its host, and enable the virion to penetrate the host cell membrane.
Often simply called an antiviral. A class of antimicrobial medication used specifically for treating diseases caused by viral infections rather than ones caused by bacteria or other infectious agents. Unlike most antibiotics, antivirals typically do not destroy their target viruses but instead inhibit their development. They are distinct from virucides. assembly The construction of the virus ...
Viruses are only able to replicate themselves by commandeering the reproductive apparatus of cells and making them reproduce the virus's genetic structure and particles instead. How viruses do this depends mainly on the type of nucleic acid DNA or RNA they contain, which is either one or the other but never both. Viruses cannot function or ...
Viral vectors are genetically engineered viruses carrying modified viral DNA or RNA that has been rendered noninfectious, but still contain viral promoters and the transgene, thus allowing for translation of the transgene through a viral promoter. However, because viral vectors frequently lack infectious sequences, they require helper viruses ...
Viruses may undergo two types of life cycles: the lytic cycle and the lysogenic cycle. In the lytic cycle, the virus introduces its genome into a host cell and initiates replication by hijacking the host's cellular machinery to make new copies of the virus. [12] In the lysogenic life cycle, the viral genome is incorporated into the host genome.
Riboviria is a realm of viruses that includes all viruses that use a homologous RNA-dependent polymerase for replication. It includes RNA viruses that encode an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, as well as reverse-transcribing viruses (with either RNA or DNA genomes) that encode an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase.
Each face in turn is formed by a repetition of simpler sub-units, with the amount of repetitions called a triangulation number (T). Similar capsid structures can be used by many different types of viruses. [3] In many viruses, the virions have icosahedral symmetry, which can be ideally isometric or elongated. Many virions also have other shapes: