DNA replication is a process taking place in all living entities, copying their DNA. Okazaki fragments are formed at the time of DNA replication. These fragments appear comparatively shorter. They are deemed to be the final products or the freshly synthesized fragments of DNA which take form on lagging strands. In other words, the Okazaki fragments take form on the lagging strands. A lagging strand is the DNA strand which is discontinuously replicated from the 5′ to 3′ direction – directionality in the field of molecular biology.
Okazaki Fragments and Lagging Strand
Okazaki fragments are the small sections of DNA produced by the discontinuous replication of the lagging strand. The enzyme’s DNA polymerases copy the genetic information contained in the long DNA strands each time a cell divides. Each strand of the DNA gives a template used by the enzyme DNA polymerase to produce a complementary strand.
There is a continuous synthesis of one strand at the replication fork in the 5′ to 3′ direction – the leading strand. The second strand or the lagging strand is synthesized discontinuously in the 5′ to 3′ direction in the small fragments. These are called Okazaki fragments.
Key Differences between Okazaki Fragments and Lagging Strand
The table below depicts the differences between Okazaki fragments and the Lagging strand.
|
Okazaki fragments |
Lagging strand |
|
What they are |
|
|
Small sections of DNA produced by the discontinuous replication of the lagging strand |
Replicated DNA strands formed in short segments known as Okazaki fragments with a discontinuous growth |
|
Size |
|
|
100 to 200 nucleotides long in the eukaryotes |
Comprise multiple Okazaki fragments, with an average length of 3000 nucleotides |
|
Synthesis of DNA |
|
|
Part of lagging strand |
DNA is synthesized in short stretches called Okazaki fragments on lagging strands |
|
Role in formation |
|
|
Formed by the action of the strand |
Lagging strands must be primed continuously with the short RNA sequences in order to maintain the formation of the Okazaki fragments |
You read some differences between Okazaki fragments and the Lagging strand. For more such articles, visit us at BYJU’S NEET.
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