An enzyme that assists with UNWINDING and UNZIPPING the double helix, allowing new nucleotides to bind to the single strands by base pairing.
A
ligase
B
RNA polymerase
C
DNA Helicase
D
DNA Polymerase
C
DNA Helicase
The enzyme that assists with unwinding and unzipping the double helix, allowing new nucleotides to bind to the single strands by base pairing is DNA Helicase.
The enzyme that assists with unwinding and unzipping the double helix, allowing new nucleotides to bind to the single strands by base pairing is DNA Helicase.
To arrive at this answer, let's discuss each option:
A) Ligase: Ligase is an enzyme that helps with joining the DNA fragments together during DNA replication or repair. It is responsible for sealing the gaps between the Okazaki fragments on the lagging strand.
B) RNA polymerase: RNA polymerase is an enzyme that is responsible for transcribing DNA into RNA. It synthesizes RNA molecules using one DNA strand as a template. While it is involved in the synthesis of RNA, it is not directly involved in unwinding or unzipping the double helix.
C) DNA Helicase: DNA Helicase is the correct answer. Helicases are enzymes that catalyze the unwinding of the double-stranded DNA molecule. They separate the two strands by breaking the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs, creating a replication fork.
D) DNA Polymerase: DNA Polymerase is an enzyme responsible for synthesizing new DNA strands during DNA replication. It adds complementary nucleotides to the existing strands. DNA Polymerase does not directly unwind or unzip the DNA double helix.
Therefore, the correct answer is C) DNA Helicase.