Multiple Choice
In bacterial DNA replication, what is the primary function of DNA polymerase III?
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8. DNA Replication
Overview of DNA Replication
Multiple Choice
In the overview of DNA replication, what is the primary role of DNA helicase?
A
It seals nicks in the sugar-phosphate backbone to join Okazaki fragments.
B
It synthesizes short RNA primers needed to start DNA synthesis.
C
It adds DNA nucleotides to the growing strand in the to direction.
D
It unwinds the double helix by breaking hydrogen bonds between the two DNA strands at the replication fork.
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand the process of DNA replication involves unwinding the double helix to allow each strand to be copied.
Identify the enzyme responsible for separating the two strands of DNA by breaking the hydrogen bonds between complementary bases.
Recall that DNA helicase is the enzyme that performs this unwinding function at the replication fork.
Differentiate DNA helicase's role from other enzymes: DNA ligase seals nicks, primase synthesizes RNA primers, and DNA polymerase adds nucleotides.
Conclude that the primary role of DNA helicase is to unwind the double helix by breaking hydrogen bonds between the two DNA strands, enabling replication to proceed.
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