Question

Enzymes that break down DNA catalyze the hydrolysis of the covalent bonds that join nucleotides together. What would happen to DNA molecules treated with these enzymes?

a) DNA would replicate
b) DNA would denature
c) DNA would polymerize
d) DNA would hydrolyze

Answer 1

When DNA molecules are treated with hydrolytic enzymes, the DNA undergoes hydrolysis, which breaks it down into smaller fragments or individual nucleotides, and not replication, denaturation, or polymerization.

Step-by-step explanation:

Enzymes that break down DNA, such as endonucleases and exonucleases, catalyze the hydrolysis of the covalent bonds that join nucleotides together, leading to the DNA's structural decomposition. When DNA molecules are treated with these hydrolytic enzymes, the result is the breakdown of DNA or hydrolysis of the DNA molecule. The DNA would not replicate, denature, or polymerize; instead, it gets broken down into smaller fragments or individual nucleotides. Specifically, DNA polymerases are enzymes that add new nucleotides to the growing DNA strand during replication, and helicase is the enzyme that unwinds the DNA helix by breaking the hydrogen bonds between complementary nucleotides.