De Novo Gene Synthesis by an Antiviral Reverse Transcriptase

Explore the groundbreaking research on defense-associated reverse transcriptase (DRT) systems in this 39-minute webinar presented by Dr. Samuel H. Sternberg and Mr. Stephen Tang. Delve into the unprecedented immunity mechanism of DRT2 systems, which involves de novo gene synthesis through rolling circle reverse transcription of non-coding RNA. Learn about the unbiased profiling of RT-associated RNA and DNA ligands, the generation of concatenated cDNA repeats, and the production of long double-stranded DNA triggered by phage presence. Discover the remarkable transcription of this DNA product, resulting in messenger RNAs encoding a stop codon-less, never-ending ORF (neo) that causes potent growth arrest when translated. Gain insights into the phylogenetic analyses and screening of diverse DRT2 homologs, revealing broad conservation of rolling circle reverse transcription and Neo protein function. Understand how this research challenges conventional paradigms of genetic information encoding and highlights an elegant expansion of genome coding potential through RNA-templated gene creation.