The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infects as many as 95% of adults and is the infectious agent responsible for mononucleosis ("mono"). Infection with EBV results in lifelong. Latent infections are "dormant", meaning no active virions are produced, however the virus generates proteins and RNAs to modulate host-virus interactions that maintain latent infection. In ways yet to be fully determined, these interactions make EBV-infected B cells more prone to becoming cancerous (e.g. Hodgkin's lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma). Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have a role in this process. Structured ncRNAs are of particular interest as they serve a wide array of functions, which are the focus of intensive efforts to characterize and archive in such projects as Rfam.
