Final answer:
An animal virus causing a latent infection can integrate into the host's genome and remain dormant until triggered to reactivate, rather than constantly causing cell lysis or viral budding.
Step-by-step explanation:
An animal virus that causes a latent infection is capable of lying dormant within the host cell for an extended period. Unlike the lytic cycle in which a virus causes cell lysis, during latency the viral genome may integrate into the host cell's DNA or exist as a separate circular molecule. A common example is the herpesvirus, which can reside in a latent state in nerve tissues and reactivate occasionally. The correct answer to what an animal virus does during a latent infection is it remains incorporated in the host cell's chromosome as a prophage until induction occurs, although in eukaryotic cells the term is usually 'provirus' rather than prophage.