The Elongation of the Leading Strand During DNA Synthesis

Question

The elongation of the leading strand during DNA synthesis
A)progresses away from the replication fork.
B)occurs in the 3' → 5' direction.
C)produces Okazaki fragments.
D)depends on the action of DNA polymerase.
E)does not require a template strand.

Accepted Answer

Elongation of the leading strand during DNA synthesis depends on the action of DNA polymerase, which adds nucleotides in the 5' → 3' direction, synthesizing a continuous strand complementary to the template strand. Elongation of the lagging strand produces Okazaki fragments, which are later joined together by DNA ligase. The synthesis of both strands occurs at the replication fork, and both strands require a template strand for synthesis.