Question

Removal of single stranded portions produced due to exonucleolytic activity and due to polymerase activity are termed as _____________

(a) polishing and end filling respectively

(b) end filling and polishing respectively

(c) polishing in both the cases

(d) end filling in both the cases

This question was addressed to me in an online quiz.

The query is from Polymerases topic in section Basics of Genetic Engineering of Genetic Engineering

Answer 1

Correct option is (a) polishing and end filling respectively

Easy explanation: The single stranded ends generated due to exonucleolytic activity can either be removed by generating their complementary strand or removing the single stranded overhang. In both cases, it is termed as polishing. Whereas removal of single stranded regions generated because of polymerase activity is termed as end-filling.