File:Reverse_transcriptase_3KLF_labels.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
reverse transcriptase
Sign in to saveAlso known as RNA revertase, deoxynucleoside-triphosphate:DNA deoxynucleotidyltransferase (RNA-directed), RNA-instructed DNA polymerase, RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, DNA nucleotidyltransferase (RNA-directed), RNA-dependent deoxyribonucleate nucleotidyltransferase, RNA-directed DNA polymerase
an enzyme which generates DNA from an RNA template, a process termed reverse transcription
Key facts
- Symbol
- RVT_1
- Pfam
- PF00078
- Pfam clan
- CL0027
- Interpro
- IPR000477
- Prosite
- PS50878
- Scop2
- 1hmv / SCOPe / SUPFAM
- Cdd
- cd00304
- Pdb
- IPR000477 PF00078 ( ECOD ; PDBsum )
- Alphafold
- IPR000477 PF00078
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Reverse transcriptase 3KLF labels.png
Show 2 more facts
- EC enzyme number
- 2.7.7.49
- Commons category
- Reverse transcriptase
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~16 min read
Article
A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme that uses an RNA molecule as a template to synthesize a complementary DNA molecule, through a process termed reverse transcription. Reverse transcriptases are used by viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B to replicate their genomes, by retrotransposon mobile genetic elements to proliferate within the host genome, and by eukaryotic cells to extend the telomeres at the ends of their linear chromosomes. The process does not violate the flows of genetic information as described by the classical central dogma, but rather expands it to include transfers of information from RNA to DNA.
Retroviral RT has three sequential biochemical activities: RNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity, ribonuclease H (RNase H), and DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity. Collectively, these activities enable the enzyme to convert single-stranded RNA into double-stranded cDNA. In retroviruses and retrotransposons, this cDNA can then integrate into the host genome, from which new RNA copies can be made via host-cell transcription. The same sequence of reactions is widely used in the laboratory to convert RNA to DNA for use in molecular cloning, RNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or genome analysis.