DNA system provided the first clear suggestion that DNA carries genetic information. In 1933, while studying virgin sea urchin eggs, Jean Brachet suggested that DNA is found in the cell nucleus and that RNA is present exclusively in the cytoplasm. At the time, "yeast nucleic acid" (RNA) was thought to occur only in plants, while "thymus nucleic acid" (DNA) only in animals. The latter was thought to be a tetramer, with the function of buffering cellular pH. In 1937, William Astbury produced the first X-ray diffraction patterns that showed that DNA had a regular structure. In 1943, Oswald Avery, along with
Extrachromosomal DNA virus. Some viruses, such as HIV and oncogenetic viruses, incorporate their own DNA into the genome of the host cell. Viral genomes can be made up of single stranded DNA (ssDNA), double stranded DNA (dsDNA) and can be found in both linear and circular form. One example of infection of a virus constituting as extrachromosomal DNA is the human papillomavirus (HPV). The HPV DNA genome undergoes three distinct stages of replication: establishment, maintenance and amplification. HPV infects epithelial cells in the anogenital tract and oral cavity. Normally, HPV is detected and cleared by the immune system. The recognition of viral