Lesson 5: DNA Replication

the combination of a sugar and an

one major question for the human heterocyclic base gives a nucleotide.
mind is how does life continues When a phosphate is added to the
molecular, a nucleotide is created

one of the most important mechanism for the phosphate of a nucleotide binds both
all life cells to give offspring is to the carbon 5’ carbon of one
undoubtedly the DNA deoxyribose and the 3’ carbon of the next
deoxyribose. This is how the nucleotides
prior to cell division, the DNA material
create the strand
in the original cell must be duplicated so
that after cell division, each new cell DNA strands
contains the full amount of DNA material the strands of a DNA double helix are
the process of DNA duplication is antiparallel which means that one chain
usually called replication runs 5’3 and the other runs 3’-5’

DNA replication answers to the question: the two stands are complementary
“When a cell divides, where does the connections happen between the
extra DNA come from? adenines and thymines (2 hydrogen
DNA replication is the process whereby bonds) and between cytosines and
an entire double-stranded DNA is copied guanines (3 hydrogen bonds).
to produce a second, identical DNA each of them can be a matrix, for the
double helix creation of a new complementary and
this is how DNA replication succeeds antiparallel strand

replication of DNA begins at a DNA Double Helix

replication origin makes a complete turn in over 10
bacterial and viral DNA have only one nucleotide pairs
replication origin, whereas eukaryotic

Lesson 5: DNA Replication 1

 DNA has many sites where DNA about 25 hydrogen bonds are created in
synthesis begins simultaneously this complete turn

replication origins are spaced between the power of these 25 bonds is equal to 1
30,000 to 300,000 nucleotides from each covalent bond (bond between carbon and
other. oxygen)

DNA replication
Three models:
the original polynucleotide strand of
describe the accurate creation of the daughter
DNA serves as a template to guide the
chains
synthesis of the new complementary
Semiconservative Replication polynucleotide of DNA
DNA replication would create two is an intricate process requiring the
molecules. Each of them would be a concerted action of many different
complex of an old (parental and a proteins & several enzymes
daughter strand)
the replication proteins are clustered
Conservative Replication together in particular locations in the cell
according to this model, the DNA
Enzymes
replication process would create a brand
new DNA double helix made of two Helicase
daughter strands while the parental unwound a portion of the DNA
chains would stay together double helix
Dispersive Replication RNA Primase
according to this model the replication attaches RNA primers to the
process would create two DNA double replicating strands
chains, each of them with parts of both
DNA Polymerase delta
parent and daughter molecules
binds to the 5’-3- strand in order to
bring nucleotides and create the
the correct model is the
daughter leading strand
Semiconservative DNA which was
proved by the experiment of Meselson- DNA polymerase epsilon
Stahl binds to the 3’-5’ strand in order to
create discontinuous segments
starting from different RNA primers
Recap

Lesson 5: DNA Replication 2

 Nucleotides are monomers that are made Exonuclease (DNA Polymerase II)
of a phosphate, a sugar (deoxyribose) and
finds and removes the RNA primers
heterocyclic base (thymine, cytosine,
pyrimidines, adenine, guanine, purines) DNA ligase

adds phosphate in the remaining

gaps of the phosphate-sugar
backbone

Nucleases

remove wrong nucleotides from the

daughter strand

Steps of DNA replication the elongation process is different for the 5’-3 and 5’-3’
template.

5’-3’ Template

the 3’-5’ proceeding daughter strand that uses a 5’-3’

template is called leading strand

because DNA polymerase a can ‘read’ the template and

continuously adds nucleotide complementary to the
the first major step in DNA
nucleotides of the template
synthesis is the breaking of
hydrogen bonds between 3’-5’ Template
bases of the two antiparallel the 3’-5’ template cannot be ‘read’ by DNA polymerase a
strands
the new strand is called lagging strand
the splitting happens in
places of the chains in the lagging strand the RNA primase adds more RNA
which are rich in A-T, primers
because there are only DNA polymerase a reads the template and lengthens the
two bonds hydrogen bursts. The gap between two RNA primers is called
bonds “Okazaki Fragments”.

Helicase the RNA primers are necessary for DNA polymerase a to

bind Nucleotides to the 3’ end of them

Lesson 5: DNA Replication 3

 is the enzyme that splits the daughter strand is elongated with the binding of more
the two strands DNA nucleotides

Origin of Replication In the lagging strand, the DNA Pol I exonuclease reads the
fragments and removes the RNA Primers
the initiation point where
the splitting starts the gaps are closed with the action of DNA Polymerase
(adds complementary nucleotides to the gaps) and DNA
Replication fork
Ligase (adds phosphate in the remaining gaps of the
the structure that is phosphate-sugar backbone)
created
each new double helix is consisted of one old and one
Binding of RNA primase new chain. This is what we call semiconservative
one of the most important replication.
steps in DNA replication
in the initiation point of
the 3’5 parent chain.

RNA primase

can attract RNA

nucleotides which bind to
the DNA nucleotides of
the 3’-5’ strand due to the
hydrogen bonds between
the bases

RNA nucleotides are the

primers (starters) for the
binding of DNA
nucleotides

Lesson 5: DNA Replication 4