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DNA replication occurs so, during cell division, each daughter cell contains an accurate copy of the genetic material of the cell. In vivo DNA synthesis ( DNA replication ) is dependent on a complex set of enzymes which have evolved to act during the S phase of the cell cycle, in a concerted fashion.
Mitotic DNA synthesis (MiDAS) is a process of irregular DNA replication where DNA synthesis, naturally occurring in the S phase, takes place in the M phase of the cell cycle. Mitotic DNA synthesis is known to occur when cells are experiencing stress related to DNA replication . [ 151 ]
As DNA synthesis continues, the original DNA strands continue to unwind on each side of the bubble, forming a replication fork with two prongs. In bacteria, which have a single origin of replication on their circular chromosome, this process creates a "theta structure" (resembling the Greek letter theta: θ). In contrast, eukaryotes have longer ...
Genomic DNA is tightly and orderly packed in the process called DNA condensation, to fit the small available volumes of the cell. In eukaryotes, DNA is located in the cell nucleus, with small amounts in mitochondria and chloroplasts. In prokaryotes, the DNA is held within an irregularly shaped body in the cytoplasm called the nucleoid. [97]
The eukaryotic cell cycle consists of four distinct phases: G 1 phase, S phase (synthesis), G 2 phase (collectively known as interphase) and M phase (mitosis and cytokinesis). M phase is itself composed of two tightly coupled processes: mitosis, in which the cell's nucleus divides, and cytokinesis, in which the cell's cytoplasm and cell membrane divides forming two daughter cells.
S phase (Synthesis phase) is the phase of the cell cycle in which DNA is replicated, occurring between G 1 phase and G 2 phase. [1] Since accurate duplication of the genome is critical to successful cell division, the processes that occur during S-phase are tightly regulated and widely conserved.
DNA synthesis is catalyzed by a family of DNA polymerases that require four deoxynucleoside triphosphates, a template strand, and a primer with a free 3'OH in which to incorporate nucleotides. [23] In order for DNA replication to occur, a replication fork is created by enzymes called helicases which unwind the DNA helix. [23]
DNA polymerase III synthesizes base pairs at a rate of around 1000 nucleotides per second. [3] DNA Pol III activity begins after strand separation at the origin of replication. Because DNA synthesis cannot start de novo, an RNA primer, complementary to part of the single-stranded DNA, is synthesized by primase (an RNA polymerase): [citation ...