Question

Which of the following enzymes is required in order to produce DNA molecules complementary to mRNA transcripts?

1) reverse transcriptase
2) reverse convertase
3) DNA transcriptase
4) DNA polymerase
5) RNA polymerase

Answer 1

The enzyme needed to produce DNA molecules complementary to mRNA transcripts is reverse transcriptase, which synthesizes a complementary DNA strand from an RNA template and is crucial for studying gene expression.

Step-by-step explanation:

The enzyme required to produce DNA molecules complementary to mRNA transcripts is reverse transcriptase.

Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme found in retroviruses that synthesizes a complementary DNA (cDNA) strand from an RNA template. This process of reverse transcription is distinct from normal transcription, where RNA polymerase produces RNA from a DNA template. The formation of cDNA provides a valuable method for studying an organism's proteins by using mRNA as a starting point. Unlike DNA polymerase, which is involved in DNA replication and repairs, or RNA polymerase, which synthesizes RNA, reverse transcriptase allows for the production of a DNA sequence that is complementary to the RNA strand.

Therefore, when scientists wish to analyze gene expression or clone eukaryotic genes without introns, they often use reverse transcriptase to generate cDNA from mRNA transcripts. By using this cDNA, scientists can focus specifically on the coding regions that are translated into proteins.