Chapter 18, Problem 27RQ

Summary Introduction

To review:

The reason behind species with long lifespans having an efficient DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) repair system.

Introduction:

DNA replication is the process in which the DNA material in the cell gets doubled, just before cell division. In order to survive, a cell must replicate its DNA material so that it can carry out normal cellular functions. In DNA replication, the enzyme that catalyzes replication is very accurate at its job. However, even then, it makes mistakes. To find out these mistakes, cells havea DNA repair mechanism that lowers mistakes in DNA replication. It has been seen that species with a good DNA repair system tend to have a longer lifespan.