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DNA Replication Process Explained

DNA replication is the process by which DNA makes a copy of itself, essential for reproduction and inheritance, involving a double helix structure where each strand serves as a template for the complementary strand. Key enzymes such as DNA helicase, DNA polymerase, and DNA ligase play crucial roles in the initiation, elongation, and joining of DNA strands during replication. The process includes the formation of leading and lagging strands, with the latter synthesized in short segments called Okazaki fragments.

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40 views3 pages

DNA Replication Process Explained

DNA replication is the process by which DNA makes a copy of itself, essential for reproduction and inheritance, involving a double helix structure where each strand serves as a template for the complementary strand. Key enzymes such as DNA helicase, DNA polymerase, and DNA ligase play crucial roles in the initiation, elongation, and joining of DNA strands during replication. The process includes the formation of leading and lagging strands, with the latter synthesized in short segments called Okazaki fragments.

Uploaded by

Zerihun Zeleke
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

5.

4 DNA REPLICATION

✓ The ability of DNA to make a copy of itself which is the basis for reproduction
and inheritance.

✓ DNA is a double helix of two strands, and each strand of the original DNA
molecule serves as a template to produce the complementary strand, a process
referred to as semiconservative replication.

✓ Several Enzymes are involved in this process and the main stages are. replication
enzymes assemble on the DNA into a complex molecular machine called the
replisome.

Enzymes responsible in DNA Replication:


– Topoisomerase -remove the supercoiling that is building up in the double-stranded
regions.

– DNA helicase - break H-bonds to reveal two single strands and unwind (open) the
helix DNA

– RPA (replication protein A) is a eukaryotic stabilized single-strand DNA,


equivalent to Single-Strand Binding Proteins (SSBP) that attach and keep the 2
DNA strands separated and untwisted in prokaryote.

– DNA polymerase follows the helicase enzyme along each single-stranded region,
which acts as a template for the synthesis of a new strand.

– Primase is the enzyme that synthesizes the RNA Primer

– DNA Ligase-Re-anneals the semi-conservative strands and joins Okazaki


Fragments of the lagging strand.

– Telomerase Lengthens telomeric DNA by adding repetitive nucleotide sequences


to the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. This allows germ cells and stem cells to
avoid the shortening of chromosomes during cell division.

Replication process:

Initiation:

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✓ This process is initiated at particular points in the DNA, known as origins
which are targeted by initiator proteins. In E. coli this protein is DnaA; in yeast, this
is the origin recognition complex.

✓ Sequences used by initiator proteins tend to be "AT-rich" (adenine and


thymine bases) because A-T base pairs have two hydrogen bonds (rather than the
three formed in a C-G pair) which are easier to unzip.

✓ once the origin has been located, these initiators recruit enzymes.

Elongation:

✓ DNA polymerase has 5'-3' activity and requires a free 3' hydroxyl group
before synthesis can be initiated (the DNA template is read in a 3' to 5' direction
whereas a new strand is synthesized in the 5' to 3' direction). Four distinct
mechanisms for the initiation of synthesis are recognized:

✓ Leading strand

▪ is the strand of nascent DNA that is being synthesized in the same direction as the
growing replication fork. A polymerase adds complementary nucleotides to the
nascent leading strand continuously.

▪ The polymerase involved in leading strand synthesis is DNA polymerase III (DNA

Pol III) in prokaryotes. In eukaryotes, leading strand synthesis is thought to be

conducted by Pol δ.

✓ Lagging strand

▪ The lagging strand is the strand of nascent DNA whose direction of synthesis is
opposite to the direction of the growing replication fork.

▪ The lagging strand is synthesized in short, separated segments. On the lagging


strand template, a primase synthesizes a short complementary RNA primer. A DNA
polymerase extends the primed segments, forming Okazaki fragments.

The RNA primers are then removed and replaced with DNA, and the fragments of
DNA are joined together by DNA ligase.

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