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Article: Retrovirus
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- Genetics
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Retrovirus
Retroviruses are RNA-containing viruses that use the enzyme reverse transcriptase to copy their RNA into the DNA of a host cell. Retroviruses have been isolated from a variety of vertebrate species, including humans, other mammals, reptiles, and fish. The family Retroviridae includes such important human
pathogens
as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human Tlymphotropic virus (HTLV), the causes of AIDS and adult T-cell leukemia respectively. The study of this virus family has led to the discovery of
oncogenes
, resulting in a quantum advance in the field of cancer genetics. Retro-viruses are also valuable research tools in molecular biology and gene therapy.
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