DNA: The Molecule of Heredity
Students will explore the structure of DNA, understanding its double helix shape and how it carries genetic information.
About This Topic
Students will explore the structure of DNA, understanding its double helix shape and how it carries genetic information.
Key Questions
- Explain the semi-conservative model of DNA replication, describing the sequential roles of helicase, single-strand binding proteins, primase, DNA polymerase III, DNA polymerase I, and DNA ligase at the replication fork.
- Analyse why DNA polymerase can only synthesise in the 5′→3′ direction and explain how this constraint necessitates discontinuous synthesis of the lagging strand via Okazaki fragments and the topological problem of supercoiling ahead of the replication fork.
- Evaluate how proofreading by the 3′→5′ exonuclease activity of DNA polymerase III and post-replication mismatch repair maintain replication fidelity, and predict the mutagenic and carcinogenic consequences when these mechanisms are inactivated.
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