Retroviruses are a large group of positive-stranded RNA viruses that have a unique and evolutionarily ancient replication strategy. In addition to the well-understood infectious retroviruses, mammalian genomes also contain large amounts of elements that resemble retroviruses. This course focuses on the biology of infectious retroviruses, such as the human immunodeficiency virus HIV, and related elements in mammalian genomes. Students will learn about the structure, genetics, biology, and diseases associated with retroviruses and endogenous retroelements. close