Reverse transcriptase

[Mark Jude Hyman]

Webb Howell <webb at whowell.pdial.interpath.net> wrote:

>Does the enzyme reverse transcriptase cause the action of duplicating 
>a retrovirus's RNA genome into a DNA version?  Or does a retrovirus 
>do that on its own.  Does reverse transcriptase merely insert the DNA
>version into the DNA genome of the host cell. 

The answers are yes, depends, and no. Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme which
uses RNA as a template to synthesize DNA. Nothing more. In as much as r.t. is a
viral protein, the virus can be thought of as doing it on its own, but it's the
enzyme that does the dirty work. And no, insertion into the genome is carried
out by other enzymes.

-Mark-
Division of Molecular Virology
BAylor College of Medicine