Answer:
The biological process that involves produces two exact copies of DNA from a DNA molecule is called DNA replication.
In this process, the enzyme helicase unzips the DNA double helix by breaking the hydrogen bonds that bind bases together in the structure. Unzipping the hydrogen creates a replication fork. Every strand of the DNA acts as a template but oppositely oriented known as the leading strand in 3’ to 5’ direction and the lagging strand in the 5’ to 3’ direction.
One of the strands is oriented in the 3’ to 5’ direction (towards the replication fork), this is the leading strand. The other strand is oriented in the 5’ to 3’ direction (away from the replication fork), this is the lagging strand. As a result of their different orientations, the two strands are replicated differently.
Primer acts as an initiating site for DNA synthesis and DNA polymerase enzyme adds new complementary nucleotide base by attached and moving on the leading strand in the direction of 5' to 3' which is reversed to the strand.
After the binding and synthesis of all the bases, the enzyme called exonuclease removes the primer from the strand. One new and an old chain of two DNA molecules are synthesized by DNA replication due to the one new and one parent molecule in DNA it is known as semi-conservative.
