“adenoassociated”

: any of several single-stranded DNA viruses (genus Dependoparvovirus of the family Parvoviridae) that enter the nucleus of a host cell but are dependent on coinfection with another virus (such as adenovirus or herpesvirus) for their replication, that infect a wide range of hosts but do not appear to cause disease or illness, and that are used in gene therapy as vectors to introduce genes into cells —abbreviation AAV