During reverse transcription of retroviral RNA, synthesis of (-) strand DNA is primed by a cellular tRNA that anneals to an 18-nt primer binding site within the 5' long terminal repeat. For (+) strand synthesis using a (-) strand DNA template linked to the tRNA primer, only the first 18 nt of tRNA are replicated to regenerate the primer binding site, creating the (+) strand strong stop DNA intermediate and providing a 3' terminus capable of strand transfer and further elongation. On model HIV templates that approximate the (-) strand linked to natural modified or synthetic unmodified tRNA3Lys, we find that a (+) strand strong stop intermediate of the proper length is generated only on templates containing the natural, modified tRNA3Lys, suggesting that a posttranscriptional modification provides the termination signal. In the presence of a recipient template, synthesis after strand transfer occurs only from intermediates generated from templates containing modified tRNA3Lys. Reverse transcriptase from Moloney murine leukemia virus and avian myoblastosis virus shows the same requirement for a modified tRNA3Lys template. Because all retroviral tRNA primers contain the same 1-methyl-A58 modification, our results suggest that 1-methyl-A58 is generally required for termination of replication 18 nt into the tRNA sequence, generating the (+) strand intermediate, strand transfer, and subsequent synthesis of the entire (+) strand. The possibility that the host methyl transferase responsible for methylating A58 may provide a target for HIV chemotherapy is discussed.
