The protein encoded by some group II introns has independent endonuclease and maturase activities. What does this suggest about the origin of the intron?

What will be an ideal response?


Ans: The independence of the endonuclease and maturase activities of some group II introns suggests that the intron originated as a sequence containing only the autosplicing ability (the maturase activity). The insertion of a sequence encoding an endonuclease gave it the ability to become mobile.

Biology & Microbiology

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