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  • What is the cause of discontinuous synthesis of DNA on one of the parental strands of DNA? What happens to these short stretches of synthesised DNA?

What is the cause of discontinuous synthesis of DNA on one of the parental strands of DNA? What happens to these short stretches of synthesised DNA?

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The discontinuous synthesis of DNA occurs on the lagging strand due to the antiparallel nature of the DNA strands and the unidirectional activity of DNA polymerase, which can only synthesize DNA in the 5′ to 3′ direction. As the replication fork opens, DNA polymerase synthesizes the lagging strand in short segments known as Okazaki fragments. These fragments are initiated by RNA primers laid down by primase, and DNA polymerase extends them. Once the fragments are synthesized, the RNA primers are removed by DNA polymerase I, and the gaps are filled with DNA. Finally, DNA ligase seals the fragments together, forming a continuous strand. This process ensures efficient replication of the lagging strand despite the opposite direction of synthesis.

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