Primase adds RNA primers onto the lagging strand, which allows synthesis of Okazaki fragments from 5 to 3. However, primase creates RNA primers at a much lower rate than that at which DNA polymerase synthesizes DNA on the leading strand. DNA polymerase on the lagging strand also has to be continually recycled to construct Okazaki fragments following RNA primers. This makes the speed of lagging strand synthesis much lower than that of the leading strand. To solve this, primase acts as a temporary stop signal, briefly halting the progression of the replication fork during DNA replication. This molecular process prevents the leading strand from overtaking the lagging strand.