How does DNA replicate itself?
• DNA replication is semi-conservative. • DNA is read 3′ to 5′. • DNA builds itself 5′ to 3′. “Now our model for deoxyribonucleic acid is, in effect, a pair of templates, each of which is complementary to the other. We imagine that prior to duplication the hydrogen bonds are broken, and the two chains unwind and separate. Each chain then acts templated for the formation onto itself of a new companion chain, so that eventually we shall have two pairs of chains, where we only had one before. Moreover, the sequence of the pairs of bases will have been duplicated exactly.” – Watson & Crick, 1953 In the above quote, Watson and Crick briefly explained the process of DNA replication. • The strand of DNA unwinds and separates by an enzyme called DNA helicase. • Now there are two separate strands, (the strands are complementary to the other) each of the strands becomes a template. • Free floating nucleotides (in nucleus of the cell) pair up with its complement on the template strand. • Since DN
