Question

What is a major difference between eukaryotic DNA replication and prokaryotic DNA replication?

	a.	DNA pol III of eukaryotes has both exonuclease activities while prokaryotic DNA pol III does not.
	b.	There are many more types of prokaryotic DNA polymerases.
	c.	Prokaryotic replication does not require a primer.
	d.	Prokaryotic chromosomes are circular and so have no telomeres; eukaryotic chromosomes have telomeric replication.

Answer 1

d. Prokaryotic chromosomes are circular and so have no telomeres; eukaryotic chromosomes have telomeric replication

Prokaryotes have a circular DNA. At the end of replication, there will be gaughter strand and parent strand that is interlocked and this locking is unlocked by topoisomerase enzyme, and there is no need of telomerase enzyme.

But in case of eukaryotes, the chromosome is linear. The lagging strand of eukaryotes stops short at the end even if a final RNA primer were build at very end of chromosome. The lagging strand synthesis till the end will not be complete. This end replication problem is solved by enzyme telomerase. The end of the chromosomes are called telomere. The telomerase elongates the parental strand in 5' to 3' prime direction, and the lagging strand will be synthesised by the DNA polymerase and the end replication problem will be solved.