Dynamic Interplay of RNA and Protein in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Reverse Transcription Initiation Complex.

ABSTRACT: The initiation of reverse transcription in human immunodeficiency virus-1 is a key early step in the virus replication cycle. During this process, the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase (RT) copies the single-stranded viral RNA (vRNA) genome into double-stranded DNA using human tRNA^Lys₃ as a primer for initiation. The tRNA primer and vRNA genome contain several complementary sequences that are important for regulating reverse transcription initiation kinetics. Using single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the vRNA-tRNA initiation complex is conformationally heterogeneous and dynamic in the absence of RT. As shown previously, nucleic acid-RT interaction is characterized by rapid dissociation constants. We show that extension

SUBMITTER: Coey AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6289658 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature