DNA Replication in Prokaryotes

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary related to DNA replication in prokaryotic organisms, focusing on the mechanisms, processes, and key proteins involved in the replication of bacterial DNA.

OriC

The origin of DNA replication in prokaryotes, specifically in E. coli, consisting of approximately 250 base pairs.

Replicon

A unit of replication that includes the origin and the portion of DNA replicated from it.

Semi-conservative replication

The process in which each strand of the original DNA serves as a template for the formation of a new complementary strand.

Okazaki fragments

Short segments of DNA synthesized on the lagging strand during DNA replication, which are later joined together.

DNA polymerase III

The main replicative polymerase in E. coli, responsible for synthesizing new DNA strands during replication.

DNA primase (DnaG)

An enzyme that synthesizes a short RNA primer complementary to the single-stranded DNA template, necessary for DNA synthesis.

DnaA

A replication initiator protein that binds to 9-mer sites in OriC and triggers the unwinding of DNA for replication.

Tus protein

A protein that binds to Ter sites, inhibiting replication fork progression and ensuring proper termination of DNA replication.

Exonuclease activity

The ability of an enzyme to remove nucleotides from the end of a DNA strand, important for proofreading in DNA replication.

Antiparallel strands

The orientation of DNA strands in opposite directions (3’ to 5’ and 5’ to 3’), which affects how DNA replication occurs.