What makes an RNA virus a retrovirus?

Answer 1

A retrovirus is a type of RNA virus that, unlike other RNA viruses, reproduces by transcribing itself into DNA. An enzyme called reverse transcriptase allows a retrovirus's RNA to act as the template for this RNA-to-DNA transcription. The resultant DNA inserts itself into a cell's DNA and is reproduced along with the cell and its daughters. The life cycle is completed when the viral DNA in selected daughter cells makes an RNA copy of itself that covers itself in a protein coat and leaves the cell. Retroviruses sometimes destroy the cells whose DNA they alter, as with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and sometimes cause them to become cancerous, as with the viruses that cause certain leukemias. Lentiviruses are retroviruses that cause slowly progressing diseases, such as AIDS.

Answer 2

Retroviruses are infectious particles consisting of an RNA genome packaged in a protein capsid, surrounded by a lipid envelope. This lipid envelope contains polypeptide chains including receptor binding proteins which link to the membrane receptors of the host cell, initiating the process of infection.

Retroviruses contain RNA as the hereditary material in place of the more common DNA. In addition to RNA, retrovirus particles also contain the enzyme reverse transcriptase (or RTase), which causes synthesis of a complementary DNA molecule (cDNA) using virus RNA as a template.

The virus that causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a retrovirus. It is called HIV for human immunodeficiency virus.

Answer 3

The way in whichit reproduces inside of the host nucleus.
Reverse transcription ( taken from the nucleus of the Hosts DNA) is taken in reverse fashion, istead of cpying some portions of the sequence of DNA to produce RNA (such as messenger RNA) the viruses use the reverse mechanism, forming RNA from another RNA molecule,,it requires the presence of especial proteins or enzymes called "reverse transcriptases"..which are the ones detected by the test (ELISA) performed to detect the presence of the HIV virus, which is the prototype of a retrovirus...

Answer 4

A retrovirus is a type of RNA virus that, unlike other RNA viruses, reproduces by transcribing itself into DNA. An enzyme called reverse transcriptase allows a retrovirus's RNA to act as the template for this RNA-to-DNA transcription. The resultant DNA inserts itself into a cell's DNA and is reproduced along with the cell and its daughters. The life cycle is completed when the viral DNA in selected daughter cells makes an RNA copy of itself that covers itself in a protein coat and leaves the cell. Retroviruses sometimes destroy the cells whose DNA they alter, as with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and sometimes cause them to become cancerous, as with the viruses that cause certain leukemias. Lentiviruses are retroviruses that cause slowly progressing diseases, such as AIDS.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

it's a retrovirus because the process of translation goes backwards, or in a retrograde direction, from RNA to DNA in the initial stages of viral invasion. This is done via reverse transcriptase.

Answer 7

well it reverses the central dogma....as we all know .... rna is synthesized from dna....but retrovirus which is an RNA is able to synthesize DNA by itself thru reverse transcription....