NEETZoologyMolecular Basis of Inheritance
How much time does E. coli take to complete the process of replication?
Options
- A18 minutes
- B20 minutes
- C40 minutes
- D80 minutes
Correct answer
A. 18 minutes
Step-by-step solution
In living cells, such as E. coli, the process of replication requires a set of catalysts (enzymes). The main enzyme is referred to as DNA-dependent DNA polymerase, since it uses a DNA template to catalyze the polymerisation of deoxynucleotides. These enzymes are highly efficient enzymes as they have to catalyze polymerisation of a large number of nucleotides in a very short time. E. coli that has only 4.6 ×106 bp (compare it with humans whose diploid content is 6.6 × 109 bp), completes the process of replication wi