Question

What is true about the lagging strand during DNA replication?

A.
It is synthesized before the leading strand.
B.
It has the same sequence as the leading strand.
C.
It is synthesized in the 5′ to 3′ direction.
D.
It contains Okazaki fragments.

Answer 1

It is synthesized in the 5' to 3' direction.

Answer 2

D. It contains Okazaki fragments.

Step-by-step explanation:

DNA polymerase only synthesizes a new DNA strand in the 5 ’→ 3’ direction. On the one hand, the new tape can be made continuously, from the outside to the inside (from the open end to the bottom of the fork), on the other side the synthesis must be done from the inside to the outside. That is why the tape made in this way is called discontinuous tape or lagging atrand.

This lagging strand is initially formed by fragments of DNA, known as Okazaki fragments. Every time a sufficiently long stretch of single stranded DNA is available, the synthesis of a new Okazaki fragment begins, from the inside of the fork to the outside.