Transfection, infection of a cell initiated by using only the nucleic acid of a virus, not the intact viral particle. It is a useful technique employed in a variety of research fields, including microbiology and genetics. Under certain experimental conditions, transfection can be accomplished successfully because the process requires only the genetic information—the DNA or RNA—contained in the viral genome (its full complement of genes). The viral proteins are not necessary, because in many cases the protein serves no function other than to protect the virus as it is transported from one intracellular environment to another.
There are two types of transfection, known as transient and stable, that are used experimentally. In transient transfection, the nucleic acids introduced into the transfected cell are not permanently incorporated into the cellular genome. Therefore, the effects of the nucleic acids within the cell last only a short amount of time. In contrast, stably transfected cells permanently integrate the nucleic acids into their genomes, and thus the effects of the nucleic acids can be investigated over a long period of time.