PENANG MATRICULATION

COLLEGE

SB015

2018/2019

by: CHOY YI LING

( MS1813362299 / H3P02B )

LECTURER:
PN. ROHAYU BINTI MAT SAID

August 2018

Word Count: 1,309

TABLE OF CONTENT

1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………1

1.1 DEFINITION…………………………………………………………………………….1

2 THEORY……………………………………………………………………1

2.1 STRUCTURE OF DNA……………………………………………..………………..1

2.2 DNA REPLICATION MODELS………………………………………………….....2

2.3 DIRECTIONALITY……………………………………………….……..………..…..3

3 PROCESS OF REPLICATION………………………...............….4

3.1 INITIATION…………………………………………………….……………….….…..4

3.2 ELONGATION…………………………………………………………..…….………..5

3.2.1 LEADING STRAND………………………………………….…...…………………....6

3.2.2 LAGGING STRAND……………………………………...….…...…………………....6

3.3 TERMINATION……………………………………….…………………..…….……..7

4 APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION…………….………………..8

4.1 APPLICATION OF DNA REPLICATION…………………………………….…8

4.2 CONCLUSION…………………………………………......................................8

5 REFERENCES…………………….....................................…….9
1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 DEFINITON

DNA replication is the biological process of producing two identical replicas of DNA from
one original DNA molecule which is in other words, the process which DNA produces an
exact copy of itself. This process occurs in all living organisms and is the basic for biological
inheritance. DNA replication occurs in the nucleus of a cell during the S-phase of interphase
in cell division.

2 THEORY

2.1 STRUCTURE OF DNA

According to the DNA model discovered by Watson and Crick in 1953, the DNA molecule
consists of two strands of polynucleotide coiled together to form a double helix. The two
polynucleotide strands are linked together by hydrogen bonds formed between
complementary bases. Two hydrogen bonds are formed between the bases adenine (A) and
thymine (T) while three hydrogen bonds are formed between the bases guanine (G) and
cytosine (C).

(i) DNA is a double helix.

(ii) Bases A and T are joined by two H-bond while bases G and C are joined by
three H-bond.

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2.2 DNA REPLICATION MODELS

Three models were proposed based on the Watson and Crick double helix model of DNA to
describe the mechanism of DNA replication.

CONSERVATIVE SEMICONSERVATIVE DISPERSIVE

MODEL MODEL MODEL

 Template: the whole  Template: strands as  Template: double-

original double helix. a result of separation stranded DNA
 Result: one daughter of two parental DNA segments broken
molecule with original strands. down from parental
parental DNA  Result: Each double double helix.
molecule and the helix consists of one  New segments are
other daughter parental strand and synthesized.
molecule consists of one new strand.  The segments then
totally new DNA. reassemble into two
complete DNA double
helices, each
interspersed with
parental and new
DNA segments.

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After Meselson and Stahl experiment, it was concluded that the semiconservative model was
the mechanism of DNA replication.

2.3 DIRECTIONALITY

The two strands of double helix are anti-parallel, which means that their orientations are
in opposite direction. These strands have two designated ends called 3’ (3 prime) and 5’ (5
prime). These numbers indicate the end -to-end chemical orientation.

At one end of the DNA molecule, one of the polynucleotide strands ends with a
phosphate group attached to carbon 5 (C5) of a deoxyribose sugar. This end is the 5’ terminal.
The other polynucleotide strands ends with a hydroxyl group joined to carbon 3 (C3) of a
deoxyribose sugar is the 3’ terminal.

If one strand is 5’ to 3’ while reading from up to down, the other strand will be 3’ to 5’. The
synthesis of new DNA can only occurs in the 5’ to 3’ direction with the original DNA molecule
acting as the template strand.

The strands of DNA is anti-parallel

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3 PROCESS OF REPLICATION

A simple diagram of the process of replication of DNA

3.1 INITIATION

In a cell, DNA replication begins at specific locations, or origins of replication, in the

genome. Helicase catalyzes the DNA double helix to unwind. This catalyze breaks the
hydrogen bonds between the base pairs to separate the parental strands so that the strands
will be available as a template. As a result, replication fork is formed.

Unwinding of DNA double helix

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 The enzyme topoisomerase attaches to the double helix to relieve stain while the double-
stranded DNA is being unwound by helicase. Each separated single-stranded DNA is
bounded by protein molecules known as single-strand binding proteins (SSBP) to stabilize
the DNA and stop the strands from binding again.

Once the strands are separated, replication can be initiated and a primer is required to
bind at the origin of replication. DNA primase catalyzes the synthesis of a short RNA primer
(about 10 nucleotides in length) by adding RNA nucleotide complementary to the template in
5’ to 3’ direction.

3.2 ELONGATION

After that, DNA primase is removed. Free DNA nucleotides are added by DNA
polymerase III to the RNA primer in the 5’ to 3’ direction. The enzyme DNA polymerase III
synthesize new strand by reading the nucleotides on the template strand and specifically
adding one nucleotide after the other. The addition of DNA nucleotide is complementary to
the template. If it reads a guanine (G) on the template, it will only add a Thymine (T) in the
new strand.

(i) New strand id synthesized in the direction of 5’ to 3’

(ii) A ring-shaped protein called sliding clamp holds the polymerase into position
so that it keep working along the strand but not randomly float away.

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3.2.1 LEADING STRAND

Since the two strands run in opposite directions (anti-parallel), one will be moving in the
direction of the replication fork while the other will move in opposite direction.

The leading strand is the strand synthesized in the direction same as the growing
replication fork. The template for this strand runs in the direction of 3’ to 5’. The polymerase
attaches only once and the sort of DNA replication is continuous.

3.2.2 LAGGING STRAND

The lagging strand is the strand which its direction of synthesize is opposite to the
direction of growing replication fork. Because of this orientation, replication of the lagging
strand is more complicated than that of leading strand.

After the DNA primase is removed, DNA polymerase III adds DNA nucleotides to the
RNA primer to form a short DNA fragment called Okazaki fragment. As the DNA unwinds
some more, a new RNA primer is attached by DNA primase and the same procedure occurs
again so that another Okazaki fragment can be formed.

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3.3 TERMINATION

The RNA primers are removed by DNA polymerase I. For the lagging strand, the Okazaki
fragments are sealed or joined up by DNA ligase so that a continuous strand can be
produced.

Once all the primers are removed and ligase has filled in all the gaps, the replication
process is complete. As a result, two double-stranded daughter DNA molecules are formed.
Each has one parental strand and one daughter strand in anti-parallel orientation.

Result of DNA replication

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4 APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION

4.1 APPLICATION OF DNA REPLICATION

DNA replication is used in the production of recombinant DNA. Recombinant DNA is

used for genetic experimentation, and genetic modification. A polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) must be performed or the DNA must be replicated within a host in order to have a
large quantity of DNA for study.

Researchers commonly replicate DNA in vitro using the PCR. PCR uses a pair of primers
to span a target region in template DNA, and then polymerizes partner strands in each
direction from these primers using a thermostable DNA polymerase. Repeating this process
through multiple cycles amplifies the targeted DNA region.

At the start of each cycle, the mixture of template and primers is heated to separate the
newly synthesized molecule and template. After the mixture cools, both of these become
templates for annealing of new primers and the polymerase extends from these. As a result,
the number of copies of the target region doubles each round, increasing exponentially.

4.2 CONCLUSION

In short, DNA replication is a process that DNA produces an exact copy of itself and is
based on semiconservative model. The process of replication involve initiation, elongation
and termination with the aids of enzymes helicase, topoisomerase, single-strand binding
protein (SSBP), DNA primase, DNA polymerase III, DNA polymerase I and DNA ligase.

DNA contains the blueprints for how to synthesize proteins and other molecules that
make the cell run. Without it, cells are unable to synthesize the molecules they need to
survive. The replication of DNA is very important as meiosis and mitosis would slowly halve
the size of the genome until each cell die if DNA never duplicated. Therefore, it is important
that DNA doubles itself to account for the cells splitting during mitosis/ meiosis.

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5 REFERENCES

Liew Shee Leong, SUdani Sudin, Kamaludin A. Rashid, Lee Soon Ching & Nor Azlina Abd
Aziz (2018). Biology for Matriculation Semester 1 (5th Ed.), Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd.

https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/dna-replication-steps-diagram-where-when-
replication-occurs.html

https://prezi.com/me3egqtpay6k/dna-replication/?webgl=0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_replication