Final answer:
Telomeres protect the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes from degradation and the correct enzyme for maintaining these telomere ends is telomerase.
Step-by-step explanation:
Telomeres exist to help with the protection of the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. The correct option is c) Protection. The ends of linear chromosomes, known as telomeres, consist of noncoding repetitive sequences that prevent the loss of coding DNA sequences during cell division.
In humans, a six base-pair sequence, TTAGGG, is repeated between 100 to 1000 times as part of the telomere. Telomeres are elongated by an enzyme called telomerase, which contains a catalytic part and a built-in RNA template. It adds complementary bases to the RNA template on the 3' end of the DNA strand. This action allows the lagging strand to be sufficiently elongated so that DNA polymerase can then complete the synthesis of the DNA ends.
The ends of the linear chromosomes are maintained by telomerase, an enzyme with a built-in RNA template that extends the telomeres, thus ensuring their replication and the protection of genetic information during cell division.