During the infection cycle of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the viral RNA genome is used as a template to synthesize viral DNA. Which enzyme facilitates this process inside the host cell?

Step-by-step solution

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retrovirus, meaning its genetic material is RNA. During the infection cycle, once the virus enters the host cell, its RNA genome must be converted into DNA so that it can integrate into the host's genome. This process of synthesizing DNA from an RNA template is known as reverse transcription. The enzyme that catalyzes this reaction is reverse transcriptase, which is an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase carried by the virus. Answer: Reverse transcriptase