A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme that uses an RNA molecule as a template to synthesize a complementary DNA molecule, through a process termed reverse transcription. Reverse transcriptases are used by viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B to replicate their genomes, by retrotransposon mobile genetic elements to proliferate within the host genome, and by eukaryotic cells to extend the telomeres at the ends of their linear chromosomes.
A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme that uses an RNA molecule as a template to synthesize a complementary DNA molecule, through a process termed reverse transcription. Reverse transcriptases are used by viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B to replicate their genomes, by retrotransposon mobile genetic elements to proliferate within the host genome, and by eukaryotic cells to extend the telomeres at the ends of their linear chromosomes.
Source: Wikipedia "Reverse transcriptase" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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