Hot Telomere Topics Information by Organism Telomere Lit.
Telomeres are the physical ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes.
They are specialized nucleoprotein complexes that have important functions, primarily in the protection, replication, and stabilization of the chromosome ends. Other links from indicated topics are embedded in the text. Telomerase is the reverse transcriptase responsible for the extension of telomeric repeat sequences in most species studied. If telomerase activity is diminished or absent, telomeres will shorten. Shortened telomeres appear to lead to cell senescence.