Molecular Basis of Inheritance Question 71
71. Telomerase is an enzyme which is a [2005]
(a) simple protein
(b) RNA
(c) ribonucleoprotein
(d) repetitive DNA
Show Answer
Answer : c
Hints & Solution
(c) Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein which synthesises $G$ rich strand of telomeres in DNA. It adds specific DNA sequence repeats (“TTAGGG” in all vertebrates) to the 3 ’ end of DNA strands in the telomere regions, which are found at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. The telomeres contain condensed DNA material, giving stability to the chromosomes. The enzyme is a reverse transcriptase that carries its own RNA molecule, which is used as a template when it elongates telomeres, which are shortened after each replication cycle. Telomerase was discovered by Carol W. Greider in 1984.
