reverse transcriptase

American  

[tran-skrip-teys, -teyz] / trænˈskrɪp teɪs, -teɪz /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. a retrovirus enzyme that synthesizes DNA from viral RNA, the reverse of the usual DNA-to-RNA replication: used in genetic engineering to clone genes from RNA strands.

---

reverse transcriptase British  

/ trænˈskrɪpteɪz /

noun

1. an enzyme present in retroviruses that copies RNA into DNA, thus reversing the usual flow of genetic information in which DNA is copied into RNA

---

reverse transcriptase Scientific  

1. Any of a class of enzymes that catalyze the formation of DNA from an RNA template and are found in retroviruses, and also in certain body cells (such as stem cells) as the enzyme telomerase. The action of reverse transcriptase runs in the opposite direction from normal genetic transcription in the cell, in which RNA is copied from DNA. Drugs that inhibit the action of viral reverse transcriptase have been used to treat retroviral infections such as AIDS, and those that inhibit telomerase are potential anticancer agents.

---

Etymology

Origin of reverse transcriptase

First recorded in 1970–75; transcript + -ase

Example Sentences

Doravirine belongs to a class called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Islatravir, meanwhile, is what’s known as a nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, a novel drug that is significantly more potent.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

To verify that this effect truly depended on TE activity, the researchers used reverse transcriptase inhibitors, which stop TEs from copying themselves.

From Science Daily • Oct. 27, 2025

Finally, in 1975, with Howard Temin, a friend and colleague who had discovered reverse transcriptase around the same time, Baltimore was awarded the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2025

The HIV virus uses reverse transcriptase to replicate cells and build proteins.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022