Question

Describe the structure and function of the prosthetic group commonly associated with

telomeras.

Answer 1

Holoenzyme is formed by apoenzyme(protein part) ad Coenzyme (non protein organic part)

Coenzyme can be a prosthetic gorup which is non protein moiety bound very tightly to the enzyme and not separated by dialysis.

Or it can be an activator which is an inorganic factor necessary to enhance enzyme activity.

An enzyme called telomerase adds structures called telomeres to the ends of the chromosomes, which protect the DNA from damage. The center of telomerase has a protein called TERT that forms complexes with other proteins. TERT is a reverse transcriptase, which is a class of enzyme that creates single-stranded DNA using single-stranded RNA as a template. The protein consists of four conserved domains (RNA-Binding Domain (TRBD), fingers, palm and thumb), organized into a ring configuration that shares common features with retroviral reverse transcriptases, viral RNA polymerases and bacteriophage B-family DNA polymerases.