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MDCAT Biology QUESTION #4332
Question 1
Why are retroviruses placed in a separate class of RNA viruses?
  • They always infect animal cells only
  • Their RNA acts directly as mRNA
  • They lack protein coats
  • They use reverse transcriptase to make DNA from RNA✔️
Correct Answer Explanation
Retroviruses (e.g., HIV) carry reverse transcriptase, which synthesizes DNA from their RNA genome — the reverse of the normal DNA $\rightarrow$ RNA flow, hence the name retrovirus.