telomerase
/ˈtiːlə(ʊ)mɪəreɪz
/ /ˈtɛlə(ʊ)mɪəreɪz/noun 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.Human cells have an additional barrier to unfettered replication - most lack the chromosome repair enzyme called telomerase that rat cells possess....
- 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.