title: Enzyme engineering through evolution: thermostable recombinant group II intron reverse transcriptases provide new tools for RNA research and biotechnology.
abstract: Current investigation of RNA transcriptomes relies heavily on the use of retroviral reverse transcriptases. It is well known that these enzymes have many limitations because of their intrinsic properties. This commentary highlights the recent biochemical characterization of a new family of reverse transcriptases, those encoded by group II intron retrohoming elements. The novel properties of these enzymes endow them with the potential to revolutionize how we approach RNA analyses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. kcollins@berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Timothy W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Nilsen
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D019020:Directed Molecular Evolution; D004795:Enzyme Stability; D007438:Introns; D015202:Protein Engineering; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase
keywords: RNA-seq; noncoding RNA; reverse transcriptase; template switching