What is the activity of reverse transcriptase and its role in DNA sequencing?
Good answers from all. To elaborate on sequencing: If you’re familiar with PCR, or Polymerase Chain Reaction, you’ll know that the technology is used to amplify a sample of DNA so that multiple copies are formed and can be readily analyzed. Reverse transcriptase is utilized in PCR when one wants to analyze a sequence of RNA rather than DNA. Usually, it’s mRNA. Analyzing the sequence of mRNA allows one to elucidate the nucleotide sequence that will be translated directly into protein. Often, this sequence varies from the genomic DNA sequence that originally encoded the mRNA, as post-transcriptional modification events can alter the mRNA sequence before it’s actually translated into a protein. These post transcriptional modifications are especially prevalent in eukaryotes via alternative splicing and other modalities. Through sequencing the mRNA, something that initially requires reverse transcriptase, one can analyze any differences between the mRNA sequence and the genomic DNA sequence
