The HIV virus that causes AIDS is a retrovirus. What is a retrovirus?
A) a DNA virus that is acellular and is able to reproduce outside a living cell
B) a DNA virus that uses DNA as a template in the process of translation
C) an RNA virus that has reverse transcriptase, enabling it to make DNA from RNA
D) an RNA virus that makes proteins directly from RNA

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Retroviruses are RNA viruses that contain the enzyme reverse transcriptase, which allows them to convert their RNA genome into DNA, which can then be integrated into the host cell's genome. This is the opposite of the normal process of transcription, where DNA is used as a template to make RNA. HIV is a retrovirus, as are other viruses such as hepatitis B and C.

The HIV Virus That Causes AIDS Is a Retrovirus