DNA Polymerase III ______

Question

DNA polymerase III ______.
A) is needed for adding nucleotides during mRNA synthesis
B) synthesizes new DNA only in the 5' to 3' direction
C) cannot add nucleotides to the lagging strand
D) synthesizes an RNA primer

Accepted Answer

DNA polymerase III synthesizes new DNA strands by adding nucleotides in the 5' to 3' direction during DNA replication. It does not synthesize mRNA, cannot add nucleotides directly without a primer (but it does work on the lagging strand by extending Okazaki fragments), and does not synthesize RNA primers; that task is performed by primase.