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DNA Replication

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SaLma Zaher
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16 views16 pages

DNA Replication

Uploaded by

SaLma Zaher
Copyright
© © 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
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DNA REPLICATION

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 1


Definition

• In the process of DNA replication, the DNA makes multiple


copies of itself. It is a biological polymerisation, which proceeds
in the sequence of initiation, elongation, and termination.
• It is an enzyme-catalysed reaction. DNA Polymerase is the main
enzyme in the replication process.

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 2


Why Replicate DNA?
• DNA is the genetic material that defines every cell. Before a cell duplicates
and is divided into new daughter cells through either mitosis or meiosis,
biomolecules and organelles must be copied to be distributed among the
cells.
• DNA, found within the nucleus, must be replicated in order to ensure that
each new cell receives the correct number of chromosomes.
• The process of DNA duplication is called DNA replication.

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 3


DNA Replication is Semi-Conservative

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 4


DNA Replication Steps

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 5


Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 6
1- Initiation
• DNA replication demands a high degree of accuracy because even a minute mistake
would result in mutations. Thus, replication cannot initiate randomly at any point in
DNA.
• For the replication to begin there is a particular region called the origin of
replication. This is the point where the replication originates. Replication begins
with the spotting of this origin followed by the unwinding of the two DNA strands.
• Unzipping of DNA strands in their entire length is not feasible due to high energy
input. Hence, first, a replication fork is created catalysed by the helicase enzyme,
which unzips the DNA strand.

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 7


Primer Binding
• Once the DNA strands have been separated, a short piece of RNA called a
primer binds to the 3' end of the strand. The primer always binds as the
starting point for replication.
• Primers are generated by the enzyme DNA primase.

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 8


Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 9
2- Elongation
• As the strands are separated, Enzymes known as DNA
polymerases are responsible creating the new strand by a
process called elongation.
• There are five different known types of DNA polymerases
in bacteria and human cells. In bacteria such as E.
coli, polymerase III is the main replication enzyme, while
polymerase I, II, IV and V are responsible for error checking and
repair.
• DNA polymerase III binds to the strand at the site of the primer
and begins adding new base pairs complementary to the strand
during replication

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 10


Elongation is Unidirectional
• It is to be noted that elongation is unidirectional i.e. DNA is always polymerised only in the
5′ to 3′ direction. Therefore,
• In one strand called leading strand (the template 3‘→5‘) it is continuous, hence called
continuous replication.
• On the other strand called lagging strand (the template 5‘→3‘) it is discontinuous
replication.
• They occur as fragments called Okazaki fragments. The enzyme called DNA ligase joins
them later.

Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 11


Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 12
3- Termination
• Termination of replication occurs in different ways in different organisms.
• In E.coli like organisms, chromosomes are circular. And this happens when the
two replication forks between the two terminals meet each other.
• As is known the DNA in eukaryotic chromosomes is a linear molecule, the
termination in eukaryotic DNA also involve completing replication at the ends of
chromosomes known as Telomeres.
• During the synthesis of Okazaki fragments, RNA primer provide 3′-OH group for
5′ to 3′ replication.
• On the removal of RNA primer, from the lagging strand at the chromosome end,
the end remains unreplicated and the newly synthesized strand is shortened
Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 13
Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 14
Enzymes that participate in the eukaryotic DNA
replication process include:

• DNA helicase - unwinds and separates double • Topoisomerase - unwinds and rewinds DNA
stranded DNA as it moves along the DNA. It forms strands to prevent the DNA from becoming
the replication fork by breaking hydrogen bonds tangled or supercoiled.
between nucleotide pairs in DNA.
• Exonucleases - group of enzymes that remove
• DNA primase - a type of RNA polymerase that nucleotide bases from the end of a DNA chain.
generates RNA primers. Primers are short RNA
molecules that act as templates for the starting point • DNA ligase - joins DNA fragments together by
of DNA replication. forming phosphodiester bonds between
nucleotides.
• DNA polymerases - synthesize new DNA molecules
by adding nucleotides to leading and lagging DNA
strands.
Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 15
Ass.Lecturer/ Salma Zaher 16

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