Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Dissecting Host-virus Interaction in Lytic Replication of a Model Herpesvirus
Published on: October 7, 2011
Foamy virus replication: implications for interaction with other retroviruses and host cellular sequences
1Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Abstract:
Foamy viruses (FV) comprise one of the seven genera of retroviruses. These viruses infect most non-human primates as well as cats, cows and horses. Infections are persistent and life-long, but have no pathogenic consequences. Viral replication in vivo is at a very low level, but virus can be recovered years after infection. Humans can acquire FV as zoonotic infections which are also life-long. Although FV are highly cytopathic to fibroblast cultures, some cell lines can be infected with FV without any syncytium formation or cell death. Thus, material obtained from infected animals could contain FV proviruses without any obvious cytopathicity. The consequences of FV in biological material is not known. Little is known about how FV package their genomes, or whether they are able to package cellular genes which could have consequences for recipient cells. In addition, possible recombination between FV and other retroviruses has not been studied. Future studies of this virus should focus on the packaging ability of FV and whether they can recombine with other retroviruses.
Related Concept Videos
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Retroviruses
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Viruses with RNA Genomes
Inhibitors Of Virion Release

