Exoribonuclease Activity of Purified Reverse Transcriptase Preparations from Retroviruses

Highly purified and commercially available preparations of reverse transcriptases from retroviruses contain a 3' to 5' exoribonuclease activity capable of hydrolyzing synthetic homopolyribonucleotides having a 3'-OH end. The exoribonuclease activity of reverse transcriptase preparations from Rous associated virus-2 was further characterized. This exoribonuclease activity cleaves poly(C) and poly(U) exonucleolytically from the 3'-OH end to produce nucleoside 5'-phosphates. Poly(A), poly(G), circular polyribonucleotide, and double-stranded polyribonucleotide were not hydrolyzed by the activity. This is a novel type of exoribonuclease activity.