The Garden of Learning

Science

Which enzyme class joins DNA fragments during replication?

  • Ligases
  • Nucleases
  • Proteases

The answer is Ligases. Molecular glue.

Ligase

In biochemistry, a ligase is an enzyme that can catalyze the joining (ligation) of two molecules by forming a new chemical bond. This is typically via hydrolysis of a small pendant chemical group on one of the molecules, typically resulting in the formation of new C-O, C-S, or C-N bonds. For example, DNA ligase can join two complementary fragments of nucleic acid by forming phosphodiester bonds, and repair single-stranded breaks that arise in double stranded DNA during replication.

Wikipedia · Ligase