AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The central enzyme involved is DNA polymerase, which catalyzes the joining of deoxyribonucleoside 5′-triphosphates (dNTPs) to form the growing DNA chain.

Detailed explanation-2: -DNA polymerase (DNAP) is a type of enzyme that is responsible for forming new copies of DNA, in the form of nucleic acid molecules. Nucleic acids are polymers, which are large molecules made up of smaller, repeating units that are chemically connected to one another.

Detailed explanation-3: -DNA polymerases were named for their function of catalysing DNA replication, a process that is necessary for growth and propagation of life. DNA involving Watson–Crick base-pairing can be synthesized with high fidelity, the structural and mechanistic origins of which have been investigated for many decades.

Detailed explanation-4: -Primers are required because DNA polymerases, the enzymes responsible for the actual addition of nucleotides to the new DNA strand, can only add deoxyribonucleotides to the 3’-OH group of an existing chain and cannot begin synthesis de novo. Primase, on the other hand, can add ribonucleotides de novo.