Question

What does the term "processivity" refer to in the context of enzyme activity, particularly in DNA synthesis?

A) The speed of the enzyme in catalyzing reactions.
B) The accuracy of the enzyme in base pairing.
C) The ability of the enzyme to remain attached to the template.
D) The specificity of the enzyme for a particular substrate.

Answer 1

Processivity in the context of enzyme activity, particularly for DNA synthesis, is the ability of an enzyme to remain attached to the DNA template strand while it catalyzes the formation of the new DNA strand.

Step-by-step explanation:

The term processivity refers to the ability of an enzyme, particularly enzymes involved in DNA synthesis, to remain attached to the template strand of DNA as it catalyzes the addition of nucleotides to the growing DNA strand. High processivity indicates that the enzyme can add many nucleotides without dissociating from the DNA template.

DNA polymerases, for instance, require a high level of processivity to efficiently replicate DNA strands. This continuity is critical, given that the discontinuous nature of the lagging strand synthesis already complicates the replication process. Therefore, the correct answer to this question is (C) The ability of the enzyme to remain attached to the template.