Basics of DNA Replication

Section Summary

During cell division, each daughter cell receives a copy of each molecule of DNA by a process known as DNA replication. The single chromosome of a prokaryote or each chromosome of a eukaryote consists of a single continuous double helix. The model for DNA replication suggests that the two strands of the double helix separate during replication, and each strand serves as a template from which the new complementary strand is copied. In the conservative model of replication, the parental DNA is conserved, and the daughter DNA is newly synthesized. The semi-conservative model suggests that each of the two parental DNA strands acts as template for new DNA to be synthesized; after replication, each double-stranded DNA retains the parental or “old” strand and one “new” strand. The dispersive model suggested that the two copies of the DNA would have segments of parental DNA and newly synthesized DNA. The Meselson and Stahl experiment supported the semi-conservative model of replication, in which an entire replicated chromosome consists of one parental strand and one newly synthesized strand of DNA.