Retroviridae
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- Retroviridae
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The retroviruses: a family of RNA viruses having a virion 80–100 nm in diameter consisting of a lipid-containing envelope with peplomers, surrounding an icosahedral capsid. The genome consists of two identical molecules of polyadenylated positive-sense single-stranded RNA; the monomers are connected at the 5' end by hydrogen bonds and 3.5–9 kb, depending on the genus. Viruses contain seven major polypeptides, including a reverse transcriptase, and are resistant to ultraviolet light but sensitive to lipid solvents and detergents. Replication is unique: genomic RNA serves as a template for DNA synthesis via reverse transcriptase; complementary DNA is synthesized from viral DNA and integrated into the host cell DNA, where it is used for transcription. Assembly occurs by budding through the plasma membrane. Most retorviruses are oncogenic. Included in this family are the mammalian type B and type C retroviruses, avian type C retroviruses, type D retroviruses, the BLV-HTLV retroviruses, Lentivirus , and Spumavirus .
Used in 1 Term definition
Used in 1 Term definition