What is the central dogma of biology?
It describes the one-way flow of genetic information. It deals with the transfer of sequential information and states that the process of producing a protein is reversible, a protein can not be used to create RNA or DNA.
What happens during DNA replication? Why is it needed?
DNA replication is the process of copying a cell’s DNA before cell division using specialized proteins (enzymes).
The enzyme helicase unwinds the double helix by by breaking the hydrogen bonds between the complementary base pairs, creating a “replication fork”.
An enzyme called primase then places a short RNA primer to give the next enzyme a starting point.
DNA polymerase then adds new nucleotides to the template strands according to the base-pairing rules (A-T and G-C).
The enzyme DNA ligase seals the fragments together to then form a continuous strand.
It is required so that every new cell has a complete copy of the genome to function correctly. It allowes genetic information to be passed accurately from one generation to the next.
Last changed12 days ago
