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A second version of the central dogma is popular but incorrect. This is the simplistic DNA → RNA → protein pathway published by James Watson in the first edition of The Molecular Biology of the Gene (1965). Watson's version differs from Crick's because Watson describes a two-step (DNA → RNA and RNA → protein) process as the central ...
The fourth step in the viral cycle is replication, which is defined by the rapid production of the viral genome. How a virus undergoes replication relies on the type of genetic material the virus possesses. Based on their genetic material, viruses will hijack the corresponding cellular machinery for said genetic material.
It has become widely accepted in science [1] that early in the history of life on Earth, prior to the evolution of DNA and possibly of protein-based enzymes as well, an "RNA world" existed in which RNA served as both living organisms' storage method for genetic information—a role fulfilled today by DNA, except in the case of RNA viruses—and ...
In addition, human immunodeficiency virus, a single-stranded RNA virus, encodes an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase) that uses complementarity to catalyze genome replication. The reverse transcriptase can switch between two parental RNA genomes by copy-choice recombination during replication. [5]
Some viruses (such as HIV, the cause of AIDS), have the ability to transcribe RNA into DNA. HIV has an RNA genome that is reverse transcribed into DNA. The resulting DNA can be merged with the DNA genome of the host cell. The main enzyme responsible for synthesis of DNA from an RNA template is called reverse transcriptase. [65]
RNA viruses generally have very high mutation rates compared to DNA viruses, [8] because viral RNA polymerases lack the proofreading ability of DNA polymerases. [9] The genetic diversity of RNA viruses is one reason why it is difficult to make effective vaccines against them. [ 10 ]
Most organisms use DNA, but many viruses have RNA as their genetic material. The DNA or RNA of viruses consists of either a single strand or a double helix. [28] Viruses can reproduce rapidly because they have relatively few genes. For example, influenza virus has only eight genes and rotavirus has eleven. In comparison, humans have 20,000 ...
Eukaryotic transcription is the elaborate process that eukaryotic cells use to copy genetic information stored in DNA into units of transportable complementary RNA replica. [1] Gene transcription occurs in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.