Why are telomeres problematic for eukaryotic chromosome replication?
A) Telomerase is more error- prone than the normal DNA Polymerase.
B) Removal of the lagging strand primer leaves a gap in the one of the strand's DNA sequences.
C) The T loop blocks formation of primers on the lagging strand.
D) They are highly repetitive and thus hard to replicate correctly.
E) Maintaining very long telomeres promotes cancer cell formation.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The removal of the RNA primer on the lagging strand during DNA replication results in a gap because DNA polymerase cannot initiate synthesis de novo and thus cannot fill in this gap. This is a fundamental issue with linear chromosome replication in eukaryotes, leading to the progressive shortening of telomeres with each cell division.

Why Are Telomeres Problematic for Eukaryotic Chromosome Replication