title: The retron: a bacterial retroelement required for the synthesis of msDNA.
abstract: 'Retrons' are bacterial retroelements responsible for the synthesis of msDNA, a hybrid nucleic acid consisting of a single-stranded DNA that is branched out from an internal guanosine of an RNA molecule via a 2',5'-phosphodiester linkage. Retrons are found in a minor population of various bacterial species and are extensively diverse. Two important questions now demanding attention are whether retrons are mobile elements and why are they so diverse?
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway 08854.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inouye
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inouye
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; C058681:msDNA; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase