Appendix G: DNA Replicatio DNA Replication DNA-Polymerase (Pola) RNA Primase DNA-Ligase RNA Primer Lagging Strand Okazaki Fragment Leading Strand Topoisomerase DNA-Polymerase (Pold Helicase Single Strand Binding Proteins Topoisomerase: Unwinds the DNA double helix. Helicase: Breaks the hydrogen bonds between the nitrogenous bases in order to separate the DNA strands. Single Strand (SSB). Binds to ssDNA and prevents annealing of ssDNA into Binding Protein: double-stranded DNA. DNA Primase: Catalyzes the synthesis of the RNA primer. RNA Primers: Short RNA nucleotide sequences that are complementary to the ssDNA. They allow DNA replication to start. DNA Polymerase: Adds nucleotides to the growing strand. It reads the template 3’ 5’ and synthesize the new strand 5’ 3’. DNA Polymerase also removes the RNA primer at the end of the strand. There are many varieties of DNA polymerase. Eukaryotes use Pol a, b, d, e etc. Prokaryotes use Pol I, II, III, IV, V. Okazaki Short, newly synthesized DNA fragments that are formed on Fragment: the lagging template strand during DNA replication. DNA Ligase: Joins DNA strands together by catalyzing the formation of phosphodiester bonds.