Genetic Information In Retroviruses (College Board AP® Biology): Study Guide

Production of retrovirus proteins

• Viral proteins are produced when viruses infect host cells and insert their genetic material into the host cell genome; the host cell then carries out transcription and translation

• Retroviruses are a group of viruses that have RNA as their genetic material

• When retroviruses infect host cells their RNA needs to be converted into DNA before transcription and translation can occur

  • Note that this is an alternate flow of information to the usual DNA → mRNA

• RNA is converted to DNA by the enzyme reverse transcriptase; the resulting DNA can be inserted into the host cell genome