3.3: Basics of DNA Replication
- Page ID
- 59008
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DNA replication uses a semi-conservative method that results in a double-stranded DNA with one parental strand and a new daughter strand.
Watson and Crick’s discovery that DNA was a two-stranded double helix provided a hint as to how DNA is replicated. During cell division, each DNA molecule has to be perfectly copied to ensure identical DNA molecules to move to each of the two daughter cells. The double-stranded structure of DNA suggested that the two strands might separate during replication with each strand serving as a template from which the new complementary strand for each is copied, generating two double-stranded molecules from one.