title: Reverse transcriptase in bacteria.
abstract: Reverse transcriptase, discovered in 1970 in retroviruses, has until recently been found only in eukaryotic organisms. Recently it was shown to occur in two groups of bacteria: myxobacteria and Escherichia coli. The gene for reverse transcriptase is part of a chromosomal genetic element that codes for the production of a branched DNA-RNA compound. In this compound a single-stranded DNA is connected to RNA at a specific G residue by a 2'-5' phosphodiester linkage. The precursor for the DNA-RNA compound is a folded messenger RNA, in which the specific G residue is the initiation point for reverse transcription. In the final DNA-RNA compound, the portion of the RNA transcribed by reverse transcriptase is eliminated by RNase H. The DNA-RNA compound is present in several hundred copies per cell. Its biological function is unknown at present.
authors: Department of Microbiology, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Lim
authors: W K
authors: WK
authors: Maas
mesh_terms: D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D009231:Myxococcales / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase