{"id":298205,"date":"2024-06-05T18:06:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T12:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=298205"},"modified":"2024-06-05T18:06:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T12:36:46","slug":"reverse-transcriptase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/reverse-transcriptase\/","title":{"rendered":"Reverse Transcriptase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0This post on Reverse Transcriptase<\/strong> has been created based on the article “The bacteria that write new genes to cope with infections”<\/a> published in\u00a0\u201cThe Hindu\u201d<\/strong> on 5 June 2024.<\/p>\n

Why in News?<\/h2>\n

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the enzyme reverse transcriptase was widely used in labs worldwide. It became the gold standard for detecting the SARS-2 virus through diagnostic tests.<\/p>\n

About Reverse Transcriptase and Its Role in Bacteria<\/h2>\n
\"reverse
Source: The Hindu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Reverse transcriptase was discovered independently by Howard Temin and David Baltimore<\/span> in 1970, as published in the journal Nature. This enzyme can reverse the usual flow of genetic information by converting RNA into DNA.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 This discovery changed the understanding of genetic information flow and revolutionized research methods, allowing scientists to study genes more effectively.<\/p>\n

3. Application in Diagnostics and Treatment<\/strong><\/p>\n

i) Diagnostics:<\/strong> The enzyme is crucial in molecular diagnostics, converting viral RNA into DNA<\/span> to measure viral loads especially in diseases like hepatitis B and HIV.<\/p>\n

ii) Treatment of HIV:<\/strong> Reverse transcriptase inhibitors became a fundamental part of treating HIV\/AIDS<\/span> which is significantly improving patient survival rates.<\/p>\n

About Bacterial Reverse Transcriptase and Gene Creation<\/h2>\n

1. The first bacterial reverse transcriptase<\/span> was identified in 1989<\/span>, showing that bacteria have similar genetic mechanisms as humans.<\/p>\n

2. Function in Klebsiella pneumoniae:<\/strong> When attacked by bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria), Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria<\/span> use reverse transcriptase to create DNA from non-coding RNA<\/span>, leading to the production of a protein named ‘Neo’.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Defense Mechanism: <\/strong>The researchers have named this protein ‘Neo,’ which stands for “never-ending open-reading frame.”<\/p>\n

Neo can put the bacterial cell into a sort of deep sleep, stopping it from multiplying. This also stops the virus that’s infecting the bacteria from multiplying, effectively halting the infection.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Implications and Future Directions<\/h2>\n

1. Potential in Biotechnology and Medicine:<\/strong> The role of reverse transcriptase in bacterial defense opens new avenues for biotechnological and medical innovations<\/span>, particularly in combating antimicrobial resistance.<\/p>\n

2. Research Opportunities:<\/strong> Exploring reverse transcriptases further could unveil new genetic evolution mechanisms and viral resistance strategies<\/span>, offering novel therapeutic and biotechnological applications.<\/p>\n

UPSC Syllabus: Science and technology<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source \u2013\u00a0This post on Reverse Transcriptase has been created based on the article “The bacteria that write new genes to cope with infections” published in\u00a0\u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 5 June 2024. Why in News? During the COVID-19 pandemic, the enzyme reverse transcriptase was widely used in labs worldwide. It became the gold standard for detecting the… Continue reading Reverse Transcriptase<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,1738],"tags":[11872,10498],"class_list":["post-298205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-science-and-technology-daily-factly-articles","tag-9pm-daily-factly","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298205\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}