Which one of the following makes use of RNA as a template to synthesize DNA -
- Reverse transcriptase
- DNA dependent RNA polymerase
- RNA polymerase
- DNA polymerase
Answer
(1) Reverse transcriptase
Solution
As per NCERT (central dogma), in some viruses the flow of information is in the reverse direction, i.e., from RNA to DNA.
This RNA-dependent DNA synthesis is catalysed by reverse transcriptase (e.g., in HIV, the viral RNA is copied into DNA by reverse transcriptase).
RNA polymerase (DNA dependent), on the other hand, makes RNA on DNA, and DNA polymerase makes DNA on a DNA template.
Answer: (1)