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What role does integrase play after reverse transcriptase makes viral DNA?

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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.

After reverse transcriptase catalyzes the conversion of retroviral RNA into proviral DNA, the integrase enzyme facilitates the next critical step in the infection cycle: the insertion of this newly synthesized viral DNA into the host cell's genome.1

Once the proviral DNA is successfully integrated into the host's DNA, the virus effectively hijacks the host's genetic machinery. The integrated viral DNA is then transcribed by the host cell as if it were a native gene, allowing the virus to produce more RNA and continue the cycle of infection.1