Unlike many other viruses that utilize strands of DNA to infiltrate their hosts, the retrovirus relies on RNA sequencing of its genetic makeup to confer deadly virulence. By using the advantage of not displaying foreign antigens to its host’s immune system, the retrovirus is able to prevent the host from finding and destroying it. Once the host has been infiltrated, the retrovirus undergoes a process using the enzyme reverse transcriptase which converts the retrovirus's strands of RNA into viable strands of DNA contained within the host’s own cells. Once formed, these new strands of viral DNA take over the cell that they are contained within by replacing the cellular DNA with viral DNA. The cell is then made to work making more retroviruses.