Question

AIDS is caused by the virus HIV. A key enzyme in the HIV life cycle is reverse transcriptase (RT) RT is used by the virus HIV to copy its genes. RT takes RNA nucleotides and attaches them together into a polymer to form the virus' RNA genome. Water is produced during this reaction. Use the following information to answer the questions below. The type of chemistry that RT is doing is most likely to be hydrolysis A common treatment for AIDS is AZT.AZT resembles but is not identical to RNA nucleotides. It binds RT in the active site but cannot be added to the growing nucleic acid chain. AZT would be best described as a substrate Another drug that efectively inhibits RT is 4-arylmethylpyridinone (4AP). This drug looks nothing of RT lie a nucleotide. Binding of RT to 4AP causes the enzyme active site to get more narrow. AP most likely acts by competitive inhibition

Answer 1

1)As water is produced in the reaction,so it is hydrolysis.

2) As AZT resemble the RNA Nucleotide and bind to the active site - so AZT is competitive inhibitor.

RNA Nucleotide will be substrate for RT.

3)4AP binds to the allosteric site of the enzyme,not the active site. So 4AP acts by non-competitive inhibition.

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