Virology Lectures 2016: Retroviral Reverse Transcription

The process of reverse transcription of the retroviral RNA genome to form a DNA copy is a bit confusing, so I created this animated short video that might help in understanding the different steps.

[amooooeba]

thank you I cried so much trying to understand this mechanism

[carcaperu]

I think that the model has a minor mistake.
In the model at 1:11 the light strand starts to elongate and while doing it it displaces its tail, then the dark strand elongates.
I think that the other way around is easier. First the dark strand elongates and at u3 displaces the light strand, then the light strand elongates.
That because at 1:11 there is no gap between the two ends of the light strand (but not linked), that prevents the RT to engage at that position at that moment.

[jonwurl]

Well done professor! I am yet one more lay person (I do have some advanced science background, just not virology) who is getting a lot out of your lectures. This video does for me exactly as you intended it: shows clearly the steps in a complicated process. In the end I am dumbfounded that anything like this is even possible! BTW I am a Wisconsin guy so I am glad you give props to Thomas Brock and Harold Temin :)

[ruheelbhat]

Sir can u plz tell me the name of the book from which I can study this I have my end semester exams coming

[carcaperu]

I would like to know the efficiency of this transcription. I mean that once started what is the probability of ending it successfully. There are only two copies of the mRNA per virion and they get broken in pieces in the transcription and there are several steps where it can stop/fail.

[vivienh]

Thank you! It's so nice of you to make this video, Dr. Racaniello!

[carcaperu]

A crucial step is when at 0:40 ppt remains paired.
It needs to be explained.

[carcaperu]

At 1:00 the t-RNA is cut but it is its PBS part should have been cut into pieces when it was copied at 0:58 because it was a RNA/DNA double strand.

[GastonFlemal]

i will not fail my exam thanks to that

[carcaperu]

As I see the RT molecules start the transcription 5 times, and that may be why this process is so slow. Am I correct?
0:18 Rt engages; t-RNA primer, RNA template
0:24 RT disengages
0:26 RT engages; DNA primer, RNA template
0:51 RT engages; RNA primer, DNA template
0:58 RT disengages
1:06 RT disengages
1:11 RT engages, DNA primer, DNA template
1:15 RT disengages
1:15 RT engages; DNA primer, DNA template
1:22 RT disengages

[reyhaneesmaieli]

this was really good. I couldn't understand it from textbook figures

[JimBlakeLectures]

cool info - music is big distraction. What is diff between any "self base-paired" RNA and any DNA? Doesn't base-pairing create a double helix-signatre of DNA? Is it the presence of uracil that makes it RNA even though base paired double helix?