For what purpose do bacteria use restriction enzymes?
A) They are used in plasmid exchanges to fuse plasmid DNA.
B) They are used to restrict important nutrients from leaving the bacterial cell.
C) They are used to resist infections by viruses.
D) They are used to cut up and recycle mRNA transcripts.
E) They are used to attach amino acids to tRNA molecules.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Bacteria use restriction enzymes to cut up foreign DNA, such as that of a virus, as a defense mechanism against infection by foreign pathogens. The restriction enzymes cleave the viral DNA at specific recognition sites that are not present in the bacterial genome, preventing the virus from replicating within the host cell.

For What Purpose Do Bacteria Use Restriction Enzymes