Parvoviruses are a family of DNA viruses that have single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genomes enclosed in rugged, icosahedral protein capsids 18–26 nanometers (nm) in diameter. Unlike most other ssDNA viruses, which have circular genomes that form a loop, parvoviruses have linear genomes with short terminal sequences at each end of the genome. These termini are capable of being formed into structures called hairpins or hairpin loops and consist of short, imperfect palindromes. Varying from virus to virus, the coding region of the genome is 4–6 kilobases (kb) in length, and the termini are 116–550 nucleotides (nt) in length each. The hairpin sequences provide most of the cis-acting information needed for DNA replication and packaging.
Parvovirus genomes may be either positive-sense or negative-sense. Some species, such as adeno-associated viruses (AAV) like AAV2, package a roughly equal number of positive-sense and negative-sense strands into virions, others, such as minute virus of mice (MVM), show preference toward packaging negative-sense strands, and others have varying proportions. Because of this disparity, the 5′-end (usually pronounced "five prime end") of the strand that encodes the non-structural proteins is called the "left end", and the 3′-end (usually pronounced "three prime end") is called the "right end". In reference to the negative-sense strand, the 3′-end is the left side and the 5′-end is the right side.
Parvoviruses replicate their genomes through a process called rolling hairpin replication (RHR), which is a unidirectional, strand displacement form of DNA replication. Before replication, the coding portion of the ssDNA genome is converted to a double-strand DNA (dsDNA) form, which is then cleaved by a viral protein to initiate replication. Sequential unfolding and refolding of the hairpin termini acts to reverse the direction of synthesis, which allows replication to go back and forth along the genome to synthesize a continuous duplex replicative form (RF) DNA intermediate. Progeny ssDNA genomes are then excised from the RF intermediate. While the general aspects of RHR are conserved across genera and species, the exact details likely vary.
Parvovirus genomes have distinct starting points of replication that contain palindromic DNA sequences. These sequences are able to alternate between inter- and intrastrand basepairing throughout replication, and they serve as self-priming telomeres at each end of the genome. They also contain two key sites necessary for replication used by the initiator protein: a binding site and a cleavage site. Telomere sequences have significant complexity and diversity, suggesting that they perform additional functions for many species. In MVM, for example, the left-end hairpin contains binding sites for transcription factors that modulate gene expression from an adjacent promoter. For AAV, the hairpins can bind to MRE11/Rad50/NBS1 (MRN) complexes and Ku70/80 heterodimers, which are involved in sensing and repairing DNA. In general, however, they have the same basic structure: imperfect palindromes in which a fully or primarily basepaired region terminates into an axial symmetry. These palindromes can fold into a variety of structures such as a Y-shaped structure and a cruciform-shaped structure. During replication, the termini act as hinges in which the imperfectly basepaired or partial cruciform regions surrounding the axis provide a favorable environment for unfolding and refolding of the hairpin.
Some parvoviruses, such as AAV2, are homotelomeric, meaning the two palindromic telomeres are similar or identical and form part of larger (inverted) terminal repeat  sequences. Replication at each terminal ending is therefore similar. Other parvoviruses, such as MVM, are heterotelomeric, meaning they have two physically different telomeres. As a result, heterotelomeric parvoviruses tend to have a more complex replication process since the two telomeres have different replication processes. In general, homotelomeric parvoviruses replicate both ends via a process called terminal resolution, whereas heterotelomeric parvoviruses replicate one end by terminal resolution and the other end by an asymmetric process called junction resolution. Whether a genus is hetero- or homotelomeric, along with other genomic characteristics, is shown in the following table.