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Title: Questions on DNA replication! Leading and lagging strands Post by: princess12894 on Oct 28, 2014 What is the difference between a leading and lagging strand? Is there a difference on how they are synthesized?
Title: Re: Questions on DNA replication! Leading and lagging strands Post by: Brazilnut_II on Oct 28, 2014 The only difference between the leading and lagging strands is the way that they are replicated. Recall that each strand has a couple different names for example the strand written 5' to 3' is designated as the Coding strand or non-template strand, while its complement, written 3' to 5', is designated the NON-coding strand or the Template strand.
Both of these strands can be the leading strand or lagging strand depending on the direction of travel from the replication bubble. The difference then is that the Leading strand will be replicated continuously. It will always be read 3' to 5' and the new strand synthesized 5' to 3' (antiparallel) by DNA polymerase III. The lagging strand is then replicated via okazaki fragments and their subsequent repair. Hope that helps! |