DNA deaminase (cytidine deaminase) which acts as an inhibitor of retrovirus replication and retrotransposon mobility via deaminase-dependent and -independent mechanisms. After the penetration of retroviral nucleocapsids into target cells of infection and the initiation of reverse transcription, it can induce the conversion of cytosine to uracil in the minus-sense single-strand viral DNA, leading to G-to-A hypermutations in the subsequent plus-strand viral DNA. The resultant detrimental levels of mutations in the proviral genome, along with a deamination-independent mechanism that works prior to the proviral integration, together exert efficient antiretroviral effects in infected target cells. Selectively targets single-stranded DNA and does not deaminate double-stranded DNA or single-or double-stranded RNA. Exhibits antiviral activity against simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), herpes simplex virus 1 (HHV-1) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and may inhibit the mobility of LTR and non-LTR retrotransposons. May also play a role in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression through the process of active DNA demethylation.