AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Helicase is the first replication enzyme to load on at the origin of replication 3. Helicase’s job is to move the replication forks forward by “unwinding” the DNA (breaking the hydrogen bonds between the nitrogenous base pairs).

Detailed explanation-2: -The central enzyme involved is DNA polymerase, which catalyzes the joining of deoxyribonucleoside 5′-triphosphates (dNTPs) to form the growing DNA chain. However, DNA replication is much more complex than a single enzymatic reaction.

Detailed explanation-3: -In comparison, eukaryotic human DNA replicates at a rate of 50 nucleotides per second. In both cases, replication occurs so quickly because multiple polymerases can synthesize two new strands at the same time by using each unwound strand from the original DNA double helix as a template.

Detailed explanation-4: -During replication, these strands are separated. Each strand of the original DNA molecule then serves as a template for the production of its counterpart, a process referred to as semiconservative replication.