A scientist tried to discover the nature of genes, what three critical gene functions had they identified

Genes carry information from one generation to the next, determine heritable characteristics, and are replicated easily.

you are certainly talking about this picture:

a: is the label of the white square, it is showing the  replication fork, formed by helicase (d) ==> so it is the site of dna separation and replication 

b: is a new dna brand that is following directly the replication fork, so it is continuous ==> built continuously from 5' to 3

c: dna polymerase cannot replicate dna on its own, it needs the of their proteins, and one of them plays the role of a clamp which fixes  the dna with the dna template and increases  the processivity of the enzyme. ==>   stops polymerase from falling off the  template.

d: is the enzyme responsible for forming the replication fork (helicase) ==> unwinds and separates dna into two strands

e: is the delayed strand, it is built  in the opposite sense of the helicase, so dna will be built in fragments ==> built  fragments from 5' to 3 joins

and finally f: is the enzyme that builds  the new dna strand (dna polymerase) ==>   adds nucleotides to make a new dna helix.

credit: gradman555p98x9p

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he forelimbs below belong to four species that descended in a direct line from the ancestral mammal shown above. of the four descendants shown, which species most likely appeared earliest in evolutionary history?