dna replication

• 1

  dna molecule ready to be replicated
• 2

  enzyme dna helicase breaks hydrogen bonds between complementary base. this unwinds the double helix and separates the strand
• 3

  each strand acts as a template as free nucleotides attract to their complementary bases.

  adenine pairs with thymine

  cytosine pairs with guanine
• 4

  enzyme dna polymerase joins free nucleotides together via condensation reaction in the 5' to 3' direction.

  • forms a phosphodiester bond to create the sugar-phosphate backbone of a new dna strand
• 5

  two identical copies of dna are made

  each copy is made up of one original DNA strand and one DNA strand - semi conservative replication