In this hands-on activity, students model how a double-stranded DNA copy of the HIV genome is integrated into the host cell DNA.

This activity is part of a series of activities and demonstrations focusing on various aspects of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) life cycle. In this activity, students model the integration step.

HIV is a retrovirus. Retroviruses are distinguished from other types of viruses by two key steps in the replication cycle: reverse transcription and integration. After HIV infects a host cell, reverse transcription results in the production of a double-stranded DNA copy of the single-stranded HIV RNA genome. Integration results in the insertion of the HIV DNA into a region of the host genome.