One of the hallmarks of many DNA polymerases is that they proofread as they copy DNA, ensuring high-fidelity duplicates of an organism’s genome. This error-checking ability is missing from enzymes ...

Just like us, bacteria are under constant threat of infection by viruses (called phages). We’ve found that many bacteria are armed with sophisticated viral defence systems powered by reverse ...

Surface model of SpCas9–reverse transcriptase–pegRNA–target DNA complex. The prime editor, composed of a SpCas9 and a reverse transcriptase, reverse transcribes template sequence in pegRNA, resulting ...

Joint research led by Yutaro Shuto, Ryoya Nakagawa, and Osamu Nureki of the University of Tokyo determined the spatial structure of various processes of a novel gene-editing tool called “prime editor.

Diploidy is great! We, eukaryotes, have developed a specialized system to exchange genetic information between homologous chromosomes at meiosis. By passing only half our genetic complement to the ...

Amid the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, a once obscure enzyme found itself in the spotlight: reverse transcriptase. As laboratories worldwide rushed to develop reliable ...

A newly revealed drug-binding site on human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase could lead to a new class of HIV medications. Structures of drug complexes of HIV reverse transcriptase have ...