retrovirus

noun ret·ro·vi·rus \ ˈre-trō-ˌvī-rəs \

Updated on: 1 Apr 2018

Definition of retrovirus

: any of a family (Retroviridae) of single-stranded RNA viruses that produce reverse transcriptase by means of which DNA is produced using their RNA as a template and incorporated into the genome of infected cells, that are often tumorigenic, and that include the lentiviruses (such as the HIVs) and the causative agent of Rous sarcoma

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retroviral

play \ˈre-trō-ˌvī-rəl\ adjective

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Recent Examples of retrovirus from the Web

The little oinkers were completely retrovirus-free.

— jonathon keats, Discover Magazine, "Pig Cells That Won’t Go Retro," 24 Jan. 2018
Pigs carry retroviruses, which replicate by permanently inserting their genes in the DNA of a host species.

— jonathon keats, Discover Magazine, "Pig Cells That Won’t Go Retro," 24 Jan. 2018
In the study about pigs, published in the journal Science, a team of researchers including the founders of the company eGenesis Inc., used Crispr to inactivate all 62 copies of porcine endogenous retroviruses, or PERVs, in pig cells.

— amy dockser marcus, WSJ, "What Gene-Altering for Pigs and Ants Might Mean for Humans," 10 Aug. 2017
The retroviruses are dormant in pigs, but fear of transmission to humans has been a major barrier in moving forward with animal-to-human transplants, known as xenotransplantation.

— amy dockser marcus, WSJ, "What Gene-Altering for Pigs and Ants Might Mean for Humans," 10 Aug. 2017
The virus, known as Active Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus, or PERV, is a type of retrovirus found in pig DNA.

— luhan yang, Fortune, "One Day You Might Have a Pig Organ. And It Could Save Your Life.," 16 Aug. 2017
Using a genome-editing tool named CRISPR, the researchers created PERV-free embryos, implanted them into surrogate female pigs, which gave birth to piglets without the retrovirus.

— sean rossman, USA TODAY, "Scientists closer to using pig organs in humans, working on 'Pig 2.0'," 11 Aug. 2017
The retroviruses, which are passed on through hog generations, have never proven to transmit to humans—no human PERV disease cases have ever been reported, even in patients who have received pig tissue transplants.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "Scientists de-bug pig genome in preparation for farming organ donors," 11 Aug. 2017
Fears that pig organs would infect humans with bizarre retroviruses brought the research to a halt.

— gina kolata, The Seattle Times, "Gene editing spurs hope for transplanting pig organs into humans," 10 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'retrovirus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.