DNA Replication
To comprehend the process of DNA replication, one must be acquainted with the structure of DNA. Resembling a twisted ladder, DNA is a double helix formed with nucleotides, a phosphate and sugar backbone, and nitrogenous bases. There are four bases, and each one will only bond with it’s counterpart. Adenine will only bond with Thymine, and Cytosine with only Guanine. The double helix is antiparallel, meaning each strand runs in a different direction.
The first step to DNA replication is the unraveling of the double helix with the help of an enzyme called Helicase. Once untangled, the DNA unzips and the bonded nucleotides are separated. In the next stage, an enzyme called DNA polymerase annexes to each strand at the replication origins, deciphering the nucleotides and finding the counterpart base. Because the leading strand runs in the same direction that it was unzipped, the DNA polymerase maneuver easily down the length of the strand. The lagging strand, however, runs in the opposite direction that it was unzipped, making it complicated for the DNA polymerase to move down the strand, so it returns back and forth to the strand until the job is done. After completion of that, Proof reading enzymes moves down to the strand and identifying and repairing errors.
To complete the replication, the new strands pairs with their analogous original strands, this is named Semi-conservation because there is one new and one old strand combined. The strands are reattached into a double helix with the help of enzymes. Then the cell prepares for mitosis, where a copy of the DNA is sent to each nucleus, then cells will go through a process called Cytokinesis, where...