AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Primers are small pieces of RNA, ribonucleic acid, about five to fifteen nucleotides long. They are made by a form of RNA polymerase called primase. Primase, unlike DNA polymerases, does not require a free 3’-OH end for synthesis.

Detailed explanation-2: -RNA primers are key to initiating DNA synthesis. They provide the initiation sequence necessary for DNA polymerase to synthesize new strands. The RNA primer is introduced at the template DNA site by primase enzyme on both the leading and lagging strands.

Detailed explanation-3: -A primer, as related to genomics, is a short single-stranded DNA fragment used in certain laboratory techniques, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Detailed explanation-4: -Primase is an enzyme that synthesizes short RNA sequences called primers. These primers serve as a starting point for DNA synthesis.

Detailed explanation-5: -The reason why RNA primers are often used in DNA replication instead of DNA primers is simply because of the unavailability of specific DNA primers. DNA primers are actually more stable than RNA primers, but oftentimes DNA primers are unavailable to compliment the DNA strand sequence to allow DNA replication to begin.