Friday, January 11, 2008

HOW DO BACTERIA REPLICATE?

HOW DO BACTERIA REPLICATE?

1 comment:

CUBANITOS DESTINY said...

DNA molecules are synthesized, then, through a process called replication. Replication begins with the unwinding of the double helix by an enzyme called helicase. The unwinding can start anywhere along the strand, and once begun, enzymes create two "replication forks" that continue to unzip the helix in both directions. After the DNA has started to unwind and straighten out, another enzyme called DNA polymerase goes to work. Its job is to match up the exposed nitrogenous bases with new nucleotides, which it finds in the surrounding nuclear fluid. These nucleotides bond to the two seperated polymers according to the normal Watson-Crick pairing rules. When the entire DNA molecule has been separated and re-matched in this manner the result is two perfect copies of the original.