Final answer:
Bacterial chromosomes do not have telomeres; instead, prokaryotic chromosomes are typically circular. Eukaryotic chromosomes have telomeres made up of repeated sequences that protect genetic information. Telomerase is an enzyme that maintains the length of telomeres in eukaryotic cells.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bacterial chromosomes typically have circular DNA rather than linear, thus they do not have telomeres like eukaryotic chromosomes. However, in eukaryotes, telomeres are critical repetitive sequences at the ends of linear chromosomes. They protect the chromosome from losing important genetic information during cell division. In humans, the sequence TTAGGG is repeated 100 to 1000 times within the telomere region.
A special enzyme called telomerase helps to maintain these repetitive ends by adding nucleotides to the lagging strand during DNA replication, preventing the chromosome from progressively shortening with each division. This is essential in cellular aging and has implications in cancer and stem cell development.