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Glite Dictionary
reverse transcriptase

reverse transcriptase

1 6.3
An enzyme that makes DNA from RNA, often used by viruses like HIV
  • noun
  • /rɪˈvɜrs trænˈskrɪpˌteɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : transcriptasa inversa
  • The scientists use an enzyme called reverse transcriptase to match up the RNA to a version of the DNA from which it originated.
  • nucleoside reverse transcriptase
  • reverse transcriptase inhibitors
  • reverse transcriptase, an enzyme

Examples

  • Reverse transcriptase can be inhibited by agents that are not nucleoside analogues.

    Academic text (2000)

  • RNA viruses use reverse transcriptase to copy themselves into DNA in host cells, and retrotransposons also use the enzyme.

    Academic text (1998)

  • This is reverse transcribed by the reverse transcriptase which is carried into the cell.

  • Wasting no time, the virus deploys the reverse transcriptase it has brought along.

    Academic text (2005)

  • So you'll learn where reverse transcriptase fits in the life cycle of the HIV virus.

  • The three that it brings with them are reverse transcriptase, integrase, and protease.

  • The first drug to be approved for use in HIV infection was zidovudine, an inhibitor of reverse transcriptase developed over 30 years ago.

    Academic text (2000)

  • A cDNA library is prepared from isolated cellular mRNAs using the enzyme reverse transcriptase.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Viral resistance to the nucleoside inhibitors of reverse transcriptase may result from multiple drug-resistant strains and can involve at least five different mutations.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The researchers used reverse transcriptase to create DNA sequences from the viral RNA for their experiment.

Surface Forms

reverse transcriptase singular
reverse transcriptases plural

Morphology

reverse + transcriptase

The form transparently combines 'reverse' (indicating opposition or backward direction) with an enzyme name 'transcriptase', so the general idea of an enzyme that 'reverses' transcription is compositionally indicated. However, 'transcriptase' and the morpheme '-ase' are technical and likely unknown to a B1 learner, and the precise biochemical meaning (synthesizing DNA from an RNA template) requires domain knowledge, making it only partially predictable.

Etymology

Reverse transcriptase is named for what it does: reverse shows it works 'backwards' and transcriptase comes from 'to copy' or 'to make a transcript'. Imagine taking a recorded 'RNA' message and writing it back into a book as 'DNA', and that image explains why the name means it makes 'DNA' from 'RNA'.