reverse transcription

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re·verse tran·scrip·tion

reversal of the normal pattern of transcription (from DNA to RNA); the effective means is the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase.

reverse transcription

The process by which DNA is synthesized from an RNA template by means of the enzyme reverse transcriptase.

reverse transcription

the process of synthesizing complementary DNA from an RNA TEMPLATE, by the ENZYME REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE. A PRIMER is required for enzyme activity. The process tends to be error-prone, because there is no EDITING of the newly synthesized DNA and therefore MUTATIONS can accumulate. Reverse transcription is a reversal of the normal flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA.see CENTRAL DOGMA.


the synthesis of an RNA copy from a nucleotide sequence in a limited region of DNA. See also deoxyribonucleic acid and transcriptase.

transcription-control region
the cis-acting DNA sequences regulating transcription of a specific gene.
transcription factor (TF)
a general term for any protein, other than RNA polymerase, required to initiate or regulate transcription in eukaryotic cells. General TFs are involved in the formation of the transcription-preinitiation complexes near the start site and are required for transcription of all genes; specific TFs stimulate (activators) or inhibit (suppressors) transcription of particular genes by binding to their regulatory sequences.
nested set transcription
a hallmark of the replication strategy of coronaviruses, toroviruses and arteriviruses, in which a nested set of subgenomic mRNAs are generated having identical 5′-leader sequences and a common 3′-termini, but because of discontinuous transcription each mRNA has a unique coding sequence and is transcribed into a unique viral protein.
reverse transcription
the synthesis of a DNA copy from a RNA template, catalyzed by reverse transcriptase.
transcription unit
see operon.
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