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Eukaryotes initiate DNA replication at multiple points in the chromosome, so replication forks meet and terminate at many points in the chromosome. Because eukaryotes have linear chromosomes, DNA replication is unable to reach the very end of the chromosomes. Due to this problem, DNA is lost in each replication cycle from the end of the chromosome.
During DNA replication, the replisome will unwind the parental duplex DNA into a two single-stranded DNA template replication fork in a 5' to 3' direction. The leading strand is the template strand that is being replicated in the same direction as the movement of the replication fork.
This directionality is because RNA polymerase can only add nucleotides to the 3' end of the growing mRNA chain. This use of only the 3' → 5' DNA strand eliminates the need for the Okazaki fragments that are seen in DNA replication. [2] This also removes the need for an RNA primer to initiate RNA synthesis, as is the case in DNA replication.
Reverse transcription is the transfer of information from RNA to DNA (the reverse of normal transcription). This is known to occur in the case of retroviruses, such as HIV, as well as in eukaryotes, in the case of retrotransposons and telomere synthesis. It is the process by which genetic information from RNA gets transcribed into new DNA.
In nature complementarity is the base principle of DNA replication and transcription as it is a property shared between two DNA or RNA sequences, such that when they are aligned antiparallel to each other, the nucleotide bases at each position in the sequences will be complementary, much like looking in the mirror and seeing the reverse of things.
Rolling circle replication (RCR) is a process of unidirectional nucleic acid replication that can rapidly synthesize multiple copies of circular molecules of DNA or RNA, such as plasmids, the genomes of bacteriophages, and the circular RNA genome of viroids. Some eukaryotic viruses also replicate their DNA or RNA via the rolling circle mechanism.
The replication of DNA with a broken sugar-phosphate backbone is most likely facilitated by the homologous recombination proteins that confer resistance to ionizing radiation. The activity of PRR enzymes is regulated by the SOS response in bacteria and may be controlled by the postreplication checkpoint response in eukaryotes.
A licensing factor is a protein or complex of proteins that allows an origin of replication to begin DNA replication at that site. Licensing factors primarily occur in eukaryotic cells, since bacteria use simpler systems to initiate replication. However, many archaea use homologues of eukaryotic licensing factors to initiate replication. [1]