title: The Mauriceville plasmid reverse transcriptase can initiate cDNA synthesis de novo and may be related to reverse transcriptase and DNA polymerase progenitor.
abstract: We show that the reverse transcriptase (RT) encoded by the Mauriceville mitochondrial plasmid of Neurospora closely resembles viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases in initiating cDNA synthesis opposite the penultimate C residue of a 3' tRNA-like structure and has the unprecedented ability for a DNA polymerase to initiate DNA synthesis at a specific site in a natural template without a primer. The Mauriceville plasmid enzyme can also use DNA or RNA primers in a manner suggesting how a primitive RT could have evolved from an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase into retroviral and other types of RTs. The characteristics of the Mauriceville plasmid RT suggest that it may be related to the progenitor of present-day RTs and DNA polymerases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, Medical Biochemistry, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lambowitz
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004261:DNA Replication; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D010957:Plasmids; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase