AbstractThe life cycle of retroviruses is an essential topic of modern cell biology instruction. Furthermore, the process of HIV viral entry into the cell is a question of great interest in basic and clinical biology. This paper describes how students can easily recover their own DNA, amplify a portion of the CCR5 chemokine receptor gene, characterize wild‐type and mutant genotypes, and provide a timely backdrop for learning the many molecular facets of the HIV virus. This exercise can easily lead to current and ongoing discussions of the relevance of mutant alleles in the CCR5 co‐receptor and possible HIV tolerance. Student laboratory reports often discussed the potential importance of structure to the function of CCR5 protein within the context of HIV infection and resistance. Discussions of structure linked to function are key components of student assessment.