Two decades after the discovery of its central role in retroviral transformation, reverse transcriptase still provokes a consuming interest in molecular biology. This book is the first comprehensive review of the enzyme's biology and it includes rare discussions of RT's functions outside the context of retroviruses. Also covered are the latest structural data on RT and a review of the antiviral activity of the enzyme's inhibitors. This monograph is a durable reference work for virologists and all molecular biologists whose work exploits RT's unique properties.