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The major difference between a lagging and leading strand is that the lagging strand replicates discontinuously forming short fragments, whereas the leading strand replicates continuously. Find out more such differences between a lagging and leading strand, in the table below.
What is Lagging Strand and Leading Strand? The leading strand is synthesized continuously in the same direction as the growing replication fork. The lagging strand is synthesized in the opposite direction of the replication fork and is made in small pieces called Okazaki fragments.
The main difference between leading and lagging strand is that the leading strand is the DNA strand, which grows continuously during DNA replication whereas lagging strand is the DNA strand, which grows discontinuously by forming short segments known as Okazaki fragments.
The “leading strand” is synthesized continuously toward the replication fork as helicase unwinds the template double-stranded DNA. The “lagging strand” is synthesized in the direction away from the replication fork and away from the DNA helicase unwinds.
DNA polymerase can continuously synthesize the leading strand as it follows the unwinding of the DNA helix. This continuous synthesis is efficient and straightforward, allowing for rapid replication of the genetic material. In contrast, the lagging strand requires a more complex mechanism due to its orientation.
Both the leading strand and the lagging strand of DNA are the newly synthesized DNA strands formed during the process of DNA replication. The leading strand as the name suggests is a complete continuous strand that is synthesized rapidly during DNA replication on the 3’→5′ polarity template of DNA. Its direction is 5’→3′.
The difference being that the lagging strand needs multiple of them (which leads to the formation of Okazaki fragments) while leading strand synthesis is continuous (only needs one primer).
One strand is synthesized continuously in the direction of the replication fork; this is called the leading strand. The other strand is synthesized in a direction away from the replication fork, in short stretches of DNA known as Okazaki fragments. This strand is known as the lagging strand.
The strand with the Okazaki fragments is known as the lagging strand, and its synthesis is said to be discontinuous. The leading strand can be extended from one primer alone, whereas the lagging strand needs a new primer for each of the short Okazaki fragments.
This animation shows the process of DNA replication, including details about how the mechanism differs between the leading and lagging strand. DNA replication starts with the separation of the two DNA strands by the enzyme helicase.