A specific virus contains RNA as its genetic material.
a. Why would reverse transcription be used in the life cycle of this type of virus?

Question

A specific virus contains RNA as its genetic material.

a. Why would reverse transcription be used in the life cycle of this type of virus?

Accepted Answer

All right. Hello everyone. So this question is asking us which of the following best describes the process of reverse transcription in the replication cycle of retroviruses. Now, up on the screen, we have four different choices labeled A through D which we'll discuss in greater detail later on in this video before we talk about the choices individually, let's just talk a little bit about what reverse transcription is. So first of all, recall first and foremost that a retrovirus contains RN A as its genetic material, its genome is composed of RN A. And so what happens is that when a retrovirus infects a whole cell, they do what's called reverse transcription using an enzyme called reverse transcriptase. Now going back to normal transcription for a second, right, a normal transcription, we take DNA and we transcribe that and convert that into R A that's transcription. Now in translation, the resulting RN A is then converted into a protein. So here as the name implies, right, reverse transcription is reversing the order in which this is happening. So instead now RN A is the starting material, it's the template, so to speak, and it's being converted into DNA thats reverse transcription. So now let's go ahead and see which option here matches that description starting off with option A which says that it's the synthesis of RN A from a DNA template. Option A is incorrect because this is describing normal transcription, right. DNA is a template and it's being used to make RN A which then makes a protein moving on to option B though it says it's the synthesis of DNA from an RN A template. This is correct, right? Because this is the opposite of normal transcription. So this is true for retroviruses. But for the sake of completeness, let's just talk about the other two options. Now we have C which says it's the direct replication of RN A from an RN A template. Now, this right here is describing replication. So what we're essentially doing is taking an RN A template, a starting RN A molecule and making an identical copy of it. Now, this does happen in certain RN A viruses, but it doesn't directly involve reverse transcription. Finally, option D says it's the integration of RNA into the host's genome. This is also not going to be correct because a retrovirus does not actually incorporate its genetic material into the genome of the host. In fact, this is actually true of lysogenic viruses and retroviruses are not examples of lysogenic viruses and there you have it. So just to go ahead and repeat, right, our correct answer choice is going to be option B because reverse transcription is the synthesis of DNA from an RNA template. And so with that being said, thank you so very much for watching. And I hope you found this helpful.

A specific virus contains RNA as its genetic material.
a. Why would reverse transcription be used in the life cycle of this type of virus?

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Reverse Transcription

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A specific virus contains RNA as its genetic material.a. Why would reverse transcription be used in the life cycle of this type of virus?

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Reverse Transcription

RNA Viruses

Viral Life Cycle

A specific virus contains RNA as its genetic material.
a. Why would reverse transcription be used in the life cycle of this type of virus?