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Nucleic Acids 101

DNA, Chromosomes, Genes

Nucleic Acid Structure

Watson-Crick Base Pairing

Nucleic Acids & Heredity

DNA Replication

RNA Structure & Function

RNA Synthesis: Transcription

The Genetic Code

Protein Synthesis: Translation

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Image Source: http://esg-www.mit.edu:8001/esgbio/dogma/repl.html


The last step is for an enzyme to come along and remove the existing RNA primers (you don't want RNA in your DNA now that the primers have served their purpose, do you?) and then fill in the gaps with DNA. This is the job of yet another type of DNA polymerase which has the ability to chew up the primers (dismantle them) and replace them with the deoxynucleotides that make up DNA. Here is a link with a diagram of the overall process of DNA replication of Okazaki Fragments.


Since each new strand is complementary to its old template strand, two identical new copies of the DNA double helix are produced during replication. In each new helix, one strand is the old template and the other is newly synthesized, a result described by saying that the replication is semi-conservative. This process is shown schematically below. Crick described the DNA replication process and the fitting together of two DNA strands as being like a hand in a glove. The hand and glove separate, a new hand forms inside the old glove, and a new glove forms around the old hand. As a result, two identical copies now exist.


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