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All members of Riboviria contain a gene that encodes for an RNA-dependent polymerase, also called RNA-directed polymerase. There are two types of RNA-dependent polymerases: RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), also called RNA replicase, which synthesizes RNA from RNA, and RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (RdDp), also called reverse transcriptase (RT), which synthesizes DNA from RNA. [3]
A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme used to convert RNA genome to DNA, a process termed reverse transcription.Reverse transcriptases are used by viruses such as HIV, COVID-19, 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.
Telomerase reverse transcriptase (abbreviated to TERT, or hTERT in humans) is a catalytic subunit of the enzyme telomerase, which, together with the telomerase RNA component (TERC), comprises the most important unit of the telomerase complex. [5] [6] Telomerases are part of a distinct subgroup of RNA-dependent polymerases.
A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a DNA copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell. [2] After invading a host cell's cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome, the reverse of the usual pattern, thus retro (backward).
These proteins are typically involved in the early stages of genome replication, and include reverse transcriptase and integrase. Reverse transcriptase is the virally encoded RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. The enzyme uses the viral RNA genome as a template for the synthesis of a complementary DNA copy. Reverse transcriptase possesses [RNase H ...
Through reverse transcription, retrotransposons amplify themselves quickly to become abundant in eukaryotic genomes such as maize (49–78%) [3] and humans (42%). [4] They are only present in eukaryotes but share features with retroviruses such as HIV, for example, discontinuous reverse transcriptase-mediated extrachromosomal recombination. [5] [6]
HIV-1 RT does not have proof-reading activity. This, combined with selective pressure from the drug, leads to mutations in reverse transcriptase that make the virus less susceptible to NRTIs and NNRTIs. Aspartate residues 110, 185, and 186 in the reverse transcriptase polymerase domain are important in the binding and incorporation of nucleotides.
In order to carry out their life cycle, the retrovirus relies heavily on the host cell's machinery. Protease degrades peptide bonds of the viral polyproteins, making the separate proteins functional. Reverse transcriptase functions to synthesize viral DNA from the viral RNA in the host cell's cytoplasm before it enters the nucleus.