To claim that a stretch of RNA is the genome of a retrovirus it is absolutely necessary but not sufficient to prove:

1. The existence of a unique molecular entity
2. The molecular entity originates from a retroviral particle

Instead, Montagnier and his colleagues added to the 1.16g/ml material in which there were no retroviral-like particles, a short synthetic DNA primer and the substrates needed for DNA synthesis.

They claimed the detection of a DNA which was the result of reverse transcription of an RNA rich in adenine and concluded that the RNA was the HIV RNA and the DNA the HIV provirus.

There are many problems with this interpretation including the following: