ABSTRACT
The study of retroviruses has proven to be a remarkably fruitful endeavor. Although regarded for many years as curiosities of little direct relevance, no one would presently dispute the importance of these agents to modem biology. Retroviruses are now universally recognized as important human and animal pathogens, as valuable models for carcinogenesis, and as paradigms for a mechanism of information transfer that has apparently been a strong force in modeling eukaryotic genomes. There is little reason to doubt that continued study of the basic molecular biology of these fascinating viruses will continue to yield large dividends in our understanding of fundamental processes of practical importance and intellectual appeal.
