The role of DNA ligase in DNA replication is to
A) add more nucleotides to the growing strand one at a time.
B) open up the two DNA strands to expose template strands.
C) ligate base to sugar to phosphate in a nucleotide.
D) bond Okazaki fragments to one another.
E) remove incorrectly paired bases.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

DNA ligase is responsible for joining together the Okazaki fragments, which are short pieces of newly synthesized DNA that are formed on the lagging strand during DNA replication. Without DNA ligase, the fragments would remain separate and the new strand could not be fully formed. DNA ligase does not add nucleotides, open the strands or remove incorrectly paired bases, and while it does ligate base to sugar to phosphate in a nucleotide, this is not its primary role in DNA replication.

The Role of DNA Ligase in DNA Replication Is to