Reverse transcriptase is used to make DNA copies of:

Correct answer: B. Viral RNA

  • A. Host RNA
  • B. Viral RNA
  • C. Host DNA
  • D. Viral DNA

Explanation

Option B is correct.HIV is equipped with various enzymes and among them: reverse transcriptase is of great importance. It takes HIV genomic dsRNA as template and reverse transcribe it to form viral dsDNA in the cytoplasm of the infected cells. The following steps take place in the reverse transcription process: 1) Initiation: Reverse transcriptase binds to the HIV RNA genome and recruits a primer, which is a short piece of RNA that is used to start DNA synthesis. 2)Elongation: Reverse transcriptase uses the primer to synthesize a DNA copy of the HIV RNA genome. 3) Termination: Reverse transcriptase terminates DNA synthesis when it reaches a specific sequence in the HIV RNA genome. Host RNA and host DNA are not used as templates by reverse transcriptase. The reverse transcriptase enzyme works in a few steps:The enzyme binds to the viral RNA.Then it unzips the RNA molecule, exposing the single-stranded RNA.The enzyme then uses the single-stranded RNA as a template to synthesize a DNA copy.The enzyme uses the single-stranded RNA as a template to synthesize a DNA copy.The reverse transcriptase enzyme works in a few steps:The enzyme binds to the viral RNA.Then it unzips the RNA molecule, exposing the single-stranded RNA.The enzyme then uses the single-stranded RNA as a template to synthesize a DNA copy.The enzyme uses the single-stranded RNA as a template to synthesize a DNA copy.

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