1. The
retrovirus isolated and recognized as the etiologic (i.e., causing or contributing to the cause of a disease) agent of
AIDS.
HIV-1 is classified as a
lentivirus in a subgroup of retroviruses. See also
Lentivirus;
Retrovirus. 2. Most viruses and all bacteria, plants and animals have genetic codes made up of
DNA, which uses
RNA to build specific
proteins. The genetic material of a
retrovirus such as HIV is the
RNA itself. HIV inserts its own
RNA into the
host cell's
DNA, preventing the
host cell from carrying out its natural functions and turning it into an HIV
virus factory. See also
DNA;
Ribonucleic Acid.