DNA replication

DNA replication is a critical step during the cell cycle and is required before cell division. Before the cell divides in mitosis and meiosis, the DNA needs to be replicated in order for the daughter cells to contain the correct amount of genetic material.

But why is cell division needed in the first place? Mitosis is required for the growth and repair of damaged tissue and asexual reproduction. Meiosis is needed for sexual reproduction in the synthesis of gametic cells.

DNA replication

Fig. 1 - The phases of the cell cycle

Semiconservative DNA replication steps

Semiconservative replication states that each strand of the original DNA molecule serves as a template for the synthesis of a new DNA strand. The steps for replication outlined below must be accurately executed with high fidelity to prevent the daughter cells from containing mutated DNA, which is DNA that has been replicated incorrectly.

Fig. 2 - The semiconservative DNA replication steps

DNA polymerase, the enzyme which catalyses the formation of phosphodiester bonds, can only make new DNA strands in the 5 'to 3' direction. This strand is called the leading strand and this undergoes continuous replication as it is being continuously synthesized by DNA polymerase, which travels towards the replication fork.

What are the DNA replication enzymes?

Semiconservative DNA replication relies on the action of enzymes. The 3 main enzymes involved are:

• DNA helicase
• DNA polymerase
• DNA ligase

DNA helicase

DNA helicase is involved in the early steps of DNA replication. It breaks the hydrogen bonds between the complementary base pairs to expose the bases on the original strand of DNA. This allows free DNA nucleotides to attach to their complementary pair.

DNA polymerase

DNA polymerase catalyses the formation of new phosphodiester bonds between the free nucleotides in condensation reactions. This creates the new polynucleotide strand of DNA.

DNA ligase

Evidence for semiconservative DNA replication

Two models of DNA replication have historically been put forward: conservative and semiconservative DNA replication.

The conservative DNA replication model suggests that after one round, you are left with the original DNA molecule and an entirely new DNA molecule made of new nucleotides. The semiconservative DNA replication model, however, suggests that after one round, the two DNA molecules contain one original strand of DNA and one new strand of DNA. This is the model we explored earlier in this article.

Meselson and Stahl experiment

In the 1950s, two scientists named Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl performed an experiment that led to the semiconservative model becoming widely accepted in the scientific community.

So how did they do this? The DNA nucleotides contain nitrogen within the organic bases and Meselson and Stahl knew there were 2 isotopes of nitrogen: N15 and N14, with N15 being the heavier isotopes.

The scientists began by culturing E. coli in a medium containing only N15, which led to the bacteria taking up the nitrogen and incorporating it into their DNA nucleotides. This effectively labelled the bacteria with N15.

• Generation 0: 1 single band. This indicates the bacteria only contained N15.
• Generation 1: 1 single band in an intermediate position relative to Generation 0 and the N14 control. This indicates that the DNA molecule is made of both N15 and N14 and thus has an intermediate density. The semiconservative DNA replication model predicted this outcome.
• Generation 2: 2 bands with 1 band in the intermediate position which contains both N15 and N14 (like Generation 1) and the other band positioned higher, which contains only N14. This band is positioned higher than N14 has a lower density than N15.

Fig. 3 - Illustration of the findings of the Meselson and Stahl experiment

The evidence from Meselson and Stahl's experiment demonstrates that each DNA strand acts as a template for a new strand and that, after each round of replication, the resulting DNA molecule contains both an original and a new strand. As a result, the scientists concluded that DNA replicates in a semiconservative manner.