Question

A restriction enzyme breaks bonds between the ______.

विकल्प

• base pairs of a DNA molecule.

• sugar and phosphate components of a nucleic acid molecule.

• base pairs of a DNA-RNA hybrid molecule.

• exons and introns of a DNA molecule.

Answer 1

A restriction enzyme breaks bonds between the sugar and phosphate components of a nucleic acid molecule.

Explanation:

Restriction enzymes, often called “molecular scissors,” do not break the hydrogen bonds between base pairs. Instead, they recognise specific sequences in a DNA molecule and cleave the phosphodiester bonds that hold the sugar-phosphate backbone together. By breaking these covalent bonds between the sugar of one nucleotide and the phosphate group of the next, the enzyme effectively cuts the physical strand of the DNA at a precise location.