What characteristic affects diseases caused by autonomous parvoviruses?

Autonomous parvoviruses, such as Parvovirus B19, are unique in that they require host cells to be in the S phase of the cell cycle, where DNA synthesis occurs. This is crucial for their replication because these viruses do not carry the complete machinery needed for DNA replication; instead, they rely on the host's cellular machinery to replicate their genome. As such, their ability to cause disease is primarily linked to their dependence on actively dividing cells, which are often found in tissues such as bone marrow, where red blood cell precursors are located.

Additionally, because autonomous parvoviruses infect cells that are actively dividing, they can have a more pronounced effect on tissues with a high turnover rate. This explains the range of diseases associated with parvoviral infections, particularly in cases like anemia, where a sudden decrease in red blood cell production can occur.

The other characteristics mentioned do not directly relate to the mechanism of disease caused by autonomous parvoviruses. For instance, integration disrupting essential genes is more relevant to integrated forms of viral DNA in the case of other viruses, while the infection of terminally differentiated cells and shutting off cellular protein synthesis are mechanisms more indicative of other viral families that do not share the same pathway for replication