3′-Hydroxymethyl 2′-deoxynucleoside 5′-triphosphates are inhibitors highly specific for reverse transcriptase

Abstract

DNTP(3′-OCH3), a 3′-O-methyl derivative of dNTP, is a chain terminator substrate for DNA synthesis catalyzed by AMV reverse transriptase. The enzyme seems to be the only DNA polymerase susceptible to the inhibitor while all the other DNA polymerases tested are fully resistant to the nucleotide analog. The resistant polymerases are: E. coli DNA polymerase I, Klenow's fragment of DNA polymerase I, phage T4 DNA polymerase, calf thymus DNA polymerase α, rat liver DNA polymerase β and calf thymus terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase