Review Question - QID 214970

A researcher is studying the activity of a key protein that is discovered in a novel bacteria. She begins by performing immunofluorescence experiments and finds that the protein localizes near the prokaryotic nucleoid. She then performs co-immunoprecipitation experiments and finds that the protein is able to bind to both deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as well as ribonucleic acid (RNA). Finally, she synthesizes a segment of DNA where one strand is exclusively DNA and the other has a mixture of DNA and RNA fragments. After adding the protein and all appropriate cofactors, she finds that the RNA is slowly removed and replaced from the 5' direction to the 3' direction. Which of the following processes is most likely the core function of this protein?