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How can retroviral DNA be passed to daughter cells during cell division?

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Diagram illustrating the process of retrovirus infection and reverse transcription, showing a retrovirus entering a host cell, releasing viral RNA, reverse transcriptase converting RNA to DNA, integration into the host genome, transcription of new viral RNA, assembly of new virions, and budding from the cell. — Reverse transcriptase After a retrovirus infects a cell, an enzyme known as reverse transcriptase converts viral RNA into proviral DNA in the cytoplasm. Proviral DNA then enters the nucleus, where it is incorporated into the host cell's DNA.

Retroviral DNA is passed to daughter cells through a process of integration into the host cell's genome.

Once a retrovirus enters a host cell, the enzyme reverse transcriptase catalyzes the transcription of the viral RNA genome into DNA. This newly synthesized viral DNA, known as a provirus, is then inserted into the host cell's chromosomal DNA by the enzyme integrase.12

Once the proviral DNA is integrated into the host genome, it becomes a stable part of the cell's genetic material. Consequently, when the host cell undergoes mitosis (cell division), the integrated viral DNA is replicated along with the host's own chromosomes. This ensures that each daughter cell receives a copy of the proviral DNA, allowing the viral genetic information to be inherited through successive generations of cells.23