Question

what would happen if ligase were absent? dna would be unable to unzip. all of the nucleotides in the cell would magically disappear. new dna strands would be made of disconnected pieces. base pairs would not be able to form. rna would be found mixed in with dna strands. score: 100 % submit response notes you are using the free version of this game (with ads) if you want to use the ad - free member version, click the button below! please note: this will open in a new tab/window! please save your progress before proceeding!

Explanation:

Ligase is an enzyme that joins (ligates) the Okazaki fragments (the short DNA segments synthesized on the lagging strand during DNA replication) together. If ligase is absent, these newly synthesized DNA fragments (from replication) would remain disconnected as there would be no enzyme to link them. Let's analyze the other options:

• "DNA would be unable to unzip" is incorrect because helicase is responsible for unzipping DNA, not ligase.
• "All of the nucleotides in the cell would magically disappear" is not related to ligase's function.
• "Base pairs would not be able to form" is incorrect as base pairing is due to hydrogen bonding between complementary bases (A - T, G - C), not ligase.
• "RNA would be found mixed in with DNA strands" is not related to ligase's role (ligase deals with DNA - DNA ligation, not RNA - DNA mixing).

So the correct consequence of ligase being absent is that new DNA strands (specifically the lagging strand fragments) would be made of disconnected pieces.

Answer:

New DNA strands would be made of disconnected pieces.