primase is the enzyme that seals okazaki fragments on the lagging strand.
primase is the enzyme that seals okazaki fragments on the lagging strand.
which enzyme seals okazaki fragments on the lagging strand?
primase
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.
okazaki fragments
newly synthesized dna, otherwise known as okazaki fragments, are bound by dna ligase, which forms a new strand of dna. there are two strands that are created when dna is synthesized. the leading strand is continuously synthesized and is elongated during this process to expose the template that is used for the lagging strand (okazaki fragments). during the process of dna replication, dna and rna primers are removed from the lagging strand of dna to allow okazaki fragments to bind to. since this process is so common, okazaki maturation will take place around a million times during one completion of dna replication. for okazaki maturation to occur, rna primers must create segments on the fragments to be ligated. this is used as a building block for the synthesis of dna in the lagging strand. on the template strand, polymerase will synthesize in the opposite direction from the replication fork. once the template becomes discontinuous, it will create an okazaki fragment. defects in the maturation of okazaki fragments can potentially cause strands in the dna to break and cause different forms of chromosome abnormality. these mutations in the chromosomes can affect the appearance, the number of sets, or the number of individual chromosomes. since chromosomes are fixed for each specific species, it can also change the dna and cause defects in the genepool of that species.
okazaki fragments