9. Reverse transcriptase (RT) is one of the essential enzymes encoded in the HIV

Question

9. Reverse transcriptase (RT) is one of the essential enzymes encoded in the HIV genome. It is comprised of two domains with two distinct active sites that carry out three distinct functions between them. What does this enzyme do? How did the discovery of RT contradict the Central Dogma? The drug AZT (left) is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor derived from thymine. In the cytoplasm, cellular enzymes add a triphosphate to the 5' OH, making AZT is analogous to dITP. Based on AZT's structure and what you know about the mechanisms of this kind of enzyme, how would you predict AZT works? (hint: there is no covalent enzyme intermediate here) CH3 HN IO AZT is a more effective against inhibitor against viral reverse transcriptase than against normal human cellular enzymes. Why is RT more susceptible to AZT than is the human analog?

Explanation / Answer

Reverse transcriptase is the retroviral enzyme through which RNA is converted into complementary DNA(cDNA) which is called as Reverse Transcription.

The central Dogma of molecular biology that eveolved in the 1950s and 1960s was that a cell's genetic information travels down a one-way street, from DNA to RNA to proteins.

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