Structural basis for template switching by a group II intron-encoded non-LTR-retroelement reverse transcriptase.

ABSTRACT: Reverse transcriptases (RTs) can switch template strands during complementary DNA synthesis, enabling them to join discontinuous nucleic acid sequences. Template switching (TS) plays crucial roles in retroviral replication and recombination, is used for adapter addition in RNA-Seq, and may contribute to retroelement fitness by increasing evolutionary diversity and enabling continuous complementary DNA synthesis on damaged templates. Here, we determined an X-ray crystal structure of a TS complex of a group II intron RT bound simultaneously to an acceptor RNA and donor RNA template-DNA primer heteroduplex with a 1-nt 3'-DNA overhang. The structure showed that the 3' end of the acceptor RNA binds in a pocket formed by an N-terminal extension present in non-long terminal repeat-retroelement RT

SUBMITTER: Lentzsch AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8363836 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature