Why did Kornberg initially think that the exonuclease activity he found in his DNA polymerase preparations was a contaminating enzyme?
A)The action of exonucleases is a lot like endonuclease.
B)The action of exonucleases is so dramatically opposed to the activity of DNA polymerases, to synthesize DNA.
C)The action of exonucleases is exactly like the action of DNA polymerase.
D)Purification was so difficult.
E)Enzymes can often run the reverse reactions.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The activity of exonucleases, which involves breaking down DNA from the ends, is in stark contrast to the activity of DNA polymerases, which adds nucleotides to the ends of DNA strands to synthesize new DNA molecules. This stark contrast led Kornberg to initially believe that the exonuclease activity he found was a contaminating enzyme rather than a part of the DNA polymerase itself.

Why Did Kornberg Initially Think That the Exonuclease Activity He