If the DNA pol I in a given cell were non-functional, how would that affect the synthesis of a leading strand? In the overview box in Figure 16.17, point out where DNA pol I would normally function on the top leading strand.

DNA polymerases refer to a group of enzymes involved in DNA molecule synthesis.DNA pol I, II, and III are the three types of DNA polymerases found in a prokaryotic organism.

The function of DNA pol I is to remove primers from the 5’ end of the DNA and to add DNA nucleotides to the 3’, leading to the synthesis of the leading strand in a 5’ to 3’ direction. Another function of DNA pol I is to add DNA nucleotides between the gaps of the Okazaki fragments in the lagging strand of the replicating molecule.

If the DNA pol I, responsible for replacing RNA primers with DNA nucleotides, is non-functional,then it would fail to remove RNA primers from the leading strand. As a result, RNA primers left in the leading strand would base pair with incorrect DNA nucleotide.

This would lead to the synthesis of DNA molecules with mismatch base pairs. Thus, the replication process would not be effective with an error in the DNA molecule.

The DNA pol I would be placed in the top leading strand near the origin of replication in the box. The enzyme would then replace the RNA primerwith DNA nucleotidesin the leading strand.

Thus, the function of DNA pol I is to replace RNA nucleotides with DNA nucleotides. However, a non-functional DNA pol I can lead to an error in the replication process.