ABSTRACT
Retrovirus reverse transcriptase has been the subject of intense investigation since its discovery in 1970. Retroviruses and their resident reverse transcriptases have been characterized from many different vertebrates. In order to understand the role of reverse transcriptase in the retrovirus life cycle a certain amount of background is essential. The bound transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) population represents a small fraction of the total tRNA population found in retroviruses. Retroviral reverse transciptase is a multifaceted enzyme of amazing complexity. The error-prone behavior of retroviral reverse transcriptase is probably a major cause of the high rate of spontaneous mutation observed during replication of retroviruses and is postulated to be involved in the generation of fixed mutations during tumor progression in the neoplastic process. Integration of a double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) copy of the retrovirus genome into host DNA is obligatory to reproduction of the genome and its transcription into RNA.
