Definition of telomerase in English:
telomerase
noun ˈtiːlə(ʊ)mɪəreɪzˈtɛlə(ʊ)mɪəreɪztəˈlō
Genetics The enzyme in a eukaryote that repairs the telomeres of the chromosomes so that they do not become progressively shorter during successive rounds of chromosome replication.
Example sentencesExamples
- In nature, a chromosome can be lengthened by the enzyme telomerase, which adds new TTAGGG sequences to the end of the telomere.
- Telomeres, the natural ends of linear chromosomes, are maintained by the specialized reverse transcriptase called telomerase.
- In eukaryotic cells with telomeres composed of short tandem repeats, this involves the enzyme telomerase.
- Human cells have an additional barrier to unfettered replication - most lack the chromosome repair enzyme called telomerase that rat cells possess.
- If any components of the telomerase are missing, telomeres are gradually shortened and most cells die.