DNA Replication and RNA Nucleotides

710 Words3 Pages
Competency 208.5.1: DNA, RNA Perhaps the most basic life structure present in all living things, DNA replication is a complicated process that is carried out so simply by the body in order to achieve biological inheritance. Without DNA replication, we would not be able to reproduce correctly, and there would be all sorts of implications with our body. It is a vital life process, and one that can be examined to observe all of its amazing qualities. DNA replication is a process where an entire double stranded DNA is copied to produce a second, perfectly copied, DNA double helix. The first step of DNA replication is the unwinding of the two individual strands of DNA that are together in a structure that is known as a “double helix”, a term coined by Watson and Crick, who founded the first original model of DNA. The enzyme that is used to split the two strands is called helicase, and the splitting process starts in a place called the “origin of replication”. After each separate DNA strand has successfully unwound, the bases that are present on the strands are now exposed, and unpaired. The enzymes then match the bases with the free nucleotide triphosphates. The bases used in DNA replication are adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). In RNA, uracil (U) is used instead of thymine, but in this case, that is irrelevant. Generally, in a normal human being, A is matched up with T, and G is matched up with C to makeup the complementary base pairs. An important step in the initiation of the replication process is the binding of the RNA primase. This primase attracts the nucleotides that bind to the corresponding nucleotides of the 3’-5’ strand. It is these RNA nucleotides that initiate the binding of DNA nucleotides, and are thus called primers. The leading strand receives a single primer while the lagging strand receives multiple primers. Ligase,

More about DNA Replication and RNA Nucleotides

Open Document