reverse transcriptase (RT) /revers′tran-skrip′tās/ , an enzyme of RNA viruses that catalyzes the transcription of RNA to DNA, which is then incorporated into the genome of the host cell. This is the reverse of the usual mechanism for replication of genetic information; in the presence of this enzyme, it is the RNA that serves as the template for DNA copies. It is one mechanism by which reproduction of cancer cells is facilitated. Also called RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. See also retrovirus.
