Tag Archives: telomeres in dna replication

Telomerase In Dna Replication

[mage lang=”en|es|fr|en” source=”flickr”]telomerase in dna replication[/mage]
why telomerase activity is required in eukaryotic DNA replication?

why telomerase activity is required in eukaryotic DNA replication?

Telomerase is an enzyme, thus it is also a protein, since enzymes are proteins.

Telomerase is vital because it actually extends the dna. If telomerase didn’t exist, then after DNA replication, the DNA would get shorter and shorter, and you would lose vital information in the form of gene code. Telomerase basically prevents the DNA from getting shorter and shorter, by adding more nucleotides to the end of the string.

If your DNA got shorter and shorter, the cell would die, and eventually you would to. This is one theory on how we age.