A retrovirus belonging to the family Retroviridae that is associated with leukaemia and induces in vitro transformation of certain mouse cells. As a retrovirus, it has a single-stranded, positive sense RNA genome which replicates via a DNA intermediate mediated by a reverse transcriptase. The Abelson murine leukaemia virus is named after the American paediatrician Herbert T. Abelson who first described and isolated it.