Indeed, the discovery of reverse transcriptase had a significant effect on the management and treatment of HIV infections, including Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), in the 1980s. Subsequent studies of the reverse transcriptase enzyme since the 1970s led to mechanistic insights into how viruses use this enzyme to replicate, as well. Bacterial reverse transcriptases — believed to be the precursors of their eukaryotic counterparts — exhibit analogous mechanisms. Writing genes using reverse transcriptaseResearchers widely believed that bacterial reverse transcriptases were the precursors of their eukaryotic counterparts. They discovered the first reverse transcriptase in bacteria in 1989, with papers published back to back in the journals Science and Cell.

Source: The Hindu June 05, 2024 03:41 UTC