For each of the following, note whether the component can be found in a virus, a cell, or both.

b. DNA polymerase

Video transcript

All right. Hello everyone. So this question is asking us which of the following statements is true about the presence of DNA polymerase in cells and or viruses. So here we have four different answer options labeled A through D which we'll discuss in greater detail individually. But for now, let's just recall the fact that DNA polymerase is an enzyme that takes deoxy nucleotides or deoxyribonucleotide, which are the building blocks of DNA. And what it does is it assembles these deoxyribonucleotide in a specific order to create a DNA molecule. And so because of its function, DNA polymerase is essential for DNA replication. And so because all cellular organisms have DNA, they're going to require DNA polymerase for DNA replication, but also repair and recombination. So here just to clarify both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cellular organisms have DNA polymerase. And the same can be true for viruses but not always because some viruses, especially the DNA viruses can encode their own DNA polymerase enzymes. And these DNA polymerase enzymes are necessary for replicating the genome of the virus inside of the host. So now let's go ahead and look at these statements starting off with option A which says that DNA polymerase can only be found in cells, not in viruses. This is not true, right? Because as established before some viruses are DNA viruses that require a DNA polymerase. So from here, we move on to option B which says that DNA polymerase can be found in the virus if it has an Mrna. Now, this is not true either, right? Because the presence of MRN A doesn't directly impact whether or not DNA polymerase is present. This is because DNA polymerase is relevant in DNA replication. It's not involved in anything involving Mrna. So we can't really link the two. Option C however, says that DNA polymerase can be found in both cells and some viruses. This is true, right? Because both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have DNA polymerase and some viruses do also have DNA polymerase. Option. D says that DNA polymerase cannot be found in both cells and some viruses. This is incorrect, right? Because it's directly contradicting what was established to be correct previously, which is that DNA polymerase is found in all cell types and some viruses. So there you have it, our correct answer is going to be. Option. C DNA polymerase can be found in both cells and some viruses. So with that being said, thank you so very much for watching. And I hope you found this helpful