Once the lagging strand is elongated by telomerase, DNA polymerase can add the complementary nucleotides to the ends of the chromosomes and the telomeres can finally be replicated.

Is telomerase on the leading strand?

In the leading strand, synthesis continues until the end of the chromosome is reached. ... The discovery of the enzyme telomerase (Figure 1) helped in the understanding of how chromosome ends are maintained. The telomerase enzyme contains a catalytic part and a built-in RNA template.

Does telomerase extend the lagging strand?

Telomerase adds complementary RNA bases to the 3′ end of the DNA strand. Once the 3′ end of the lagging strand template is sufficiently elongated, DNA polymerase adds the complementary nucleotides to the ends of the chromosomes; thus, the ends of the chromosomes are replicated.