Processing of viral DNA ends channels the HIV-1 integration reaction to concerted integration.

ABSTRACT: Retroviral DNA made by reverse transcription is blunt-ended, and the viral integrase protein must remove two nucleotides from each 3' end prior to integration into chromosomal DNA. Under most reaction conditions for integration in vitro, the majority of the reaction products are "half-site" products that result from integration of only one viral DNA end into one strand of the target DNA. Preprocessed DNA substrates are more efficient substrates for half-site reactions than are blunt-ended substrates, which require the removal of two nucleotides prior to integration. In contrast, we find that blunt-ended DNA is a better substrate for the biologically relevant reaction of concerted integration of pairs of viral DNA ends. The reaction pathway is channeled to concerted integration, and half-si

SUBMITTER: Li M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8742673 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature