Role Of Telomerase In The Aging Process

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What is the role of telomerase in DNA replication and in the aging process?
1) The role of the telomerase enzyme is to counteract the shortening of telomeres by adding repetitive sequences to the terminals of the chromosomes during DNA replication to protect the genes from damage. The telomerase acts as a reverse transcriptase that adds TTAGGG to the end of the chromosome, which allows for the synthesis and elongation of telomeres. Telomerase allows for cell division without loss of genes and every time the cell divides the telomeres shorten, the shortening of the telomeres is related to aging. Although as cells divide continuously, there is not enough telomerase, so the telomeres grow deficiently and the cells age. Telomeres are found only in Eurkaryotes. DNA polymerase is not capable of completely copying DNA at the very ends of chromosomes. …show more content…
2) The RNA essentially initiates the process so that DNA polymerase can extend the DNA strand. RNA primer is required for the initiation of DNA replication because the primer acts as a substrate for the DNA polymerase. It is capable of initiating polynucleotide synthesis de novo by positioning a complementary ribonucleotide 5'-triphosphate opposite its DNA base. The DNA polymerase is not able to initiate DNA replication de novo and can only add new nucleotides. An RNA primer is synthesized by a
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