The telomeres at the ends of linear chromosomes allow
A) the 5ʹ ends of the chromosomes to undergo recombination.
B) the single-stranded DNA left by the terminal primer removal from lagging strands to be repaired by telomerase.
C) DNA repair enzymes to recognize those ends and remove them.
D) normal cells to divide continuously.
E) DNA breaks to be examined at cell division checkpoints.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Telomeres at the ends of linear chromosomes protect the genetic information from being lost during each round of cell division. They also prevent the DNA repair machinery from mistaking the chromosome ends for broken pieces of DNA that need to be repaired. Telomeres shorten with each round of replication due to incomplete replication of the lagging strand. Telomerase is an enzyme that adds a short RNA primer to the end of the telomere, which can be extended by DNA polymerase to fill in the gap. Telomerase then adds additional repeats of the telomere sequence to the end of the chromosome, thereby protecting the genetic information and allowing normal cells to divide continuously.

The Telomeres at the Ends of Linear Chromosomes Allow