Abstract: The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide sequence from the genome of Bacillus stearothermophilus (Geobacillus stearothermophilus) and an amino acid sequence encoded by the polynucleotide sequence, the corresponding amino acid sequence comprising a novel enzyme, Tirt (thermostable intron reverse transcriptase), having reverse transcriptase activity and retaining that activity at temperatures of up to about 75° C.

Abstract: The invention relates to an isolated polynucleotide sequence from the genome of Bacillus stearothermophilus (Geobacillus stearothermophilus) and an amino acid sequence encoded by the polynucleotide sequence, the corresponding amino acid sequence comprising a novel enzyme, Tirt (thermostable intron reverse transcriptase), having reverse transcriptase activity and retaining that activity at temperatures of up to about 75° C.

Abstract: The invention relates to an isolated polynucleotide sequence from the genome of Bacillus stearothermophilus (Geobacillus stearothermophilus) and an amino acid sequence encoded by the polynucleotide sequence, the corresponding amino acid sequence comprising a novel enzyme, Tirt (thermostable intron reverse transcriptase), having reverse transcriptase activity and retaining that activity at temperatures of up to about 75° C.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a prokaryotic reverse transcriptase enzyme. The enzyme is capable of synthesizing a hybrid DNA-RNA molecule called msDNA with the genes which synthesize the DNA and RNA portions of the molecule.

Abstract: msDNA is a peculiar molecule consisting of a branched RNA linked to single-stranded DNA via a 2', 5' phosphodiester bond. A cell-free system, utilizing cells permeablized with phenethyl, alcohol, was established to study the synthesis of msDNA in Myxococcus xanthus. Permeablized cell labeled with [.alpha.-.sup.32 P]dCTP in the presence of ddGTP, ddATP, or ddTTP, produce a band that migrates at the same position as the full-sized msDNA in an acrylamide gel. However, when this band is treated with ribonuclease A prior to gel electrophoresis, it resulted in many bands of different sizes. This indicates that during the labeling, intermediates are produced in which single-stranded DNAs of various lengths are associated with a compensatory length of RNA such that the total length for each intermediate is identical. These results provide evidence for the previously proposed model in which msDNA is synthesized by reverse transcriptase using a folded RNA precursor as a primer as well as a template.