Question

What happens if a host cell is unable to provide enzymes required for viral replication?

Answer 1

Viral Replication:

1. If the host cells are unable to render enzymes that are essential for the process of viral replication, the viral genes tend to inform the direct synthesis of the proteins which are missing.
2. Retroviruses such as HIV possess an RNA genome that is reverse transcribed into the DNA that then gets integrated into the host cell genome.
3. In order to convert the RNA into DNA, retroviruses generally should have genes encoding the virus-specific enzymes reverse transcriptase transcribing an RNA template to DNA.
4. The process of reverse transcription does not take place in uninfected host cells.
5. The reverse transcriptase enzyme is synthesized only by the expression of the viral genes in the infected host cells.