A<unk>  is a region of highly repetitive DNA at the end of a linear chromosome that functions as a disposable buffer. Every time linear chromosomes are replicated during late S phase, the DNA polymerase complex is incapable of replicating all the way to the end of the chromosome; if it were not for<unk> s, this would quickly result in the loss of vital genetic information, which is needed to sustain a cell's activities. Every time a cell with linear chromosomes divides, it will lose a small piece of one of its strands of DNA. This process has been referred to by James Watson and Alexei Olovnikov as the "end replication problem" (1971). It is believed that<unk> s have a function in the ageing process.
Telomere
Sarcomere
Centromere
DNA end
Cytome
Promoter
DNA
Ribozyme