The unwinding of the double-helical structure of the DNA molecule is brought about by the help of an enzyme that is known as DNA helicase. It is also an important enzyme of DNA replication as the DNA cannot be copied unless it has removed all the turns present in its structure. The strands get separated when the hydrogen bonds present between the nitrogenous bases are hydrolyzed.
This process utilizes energy which is derived from the hydrolysis of ATP molecules. Both the strands open up in directions opposite to each other and form a structure known as a replication fork. The helicase enzyme unwinds the strands at each replication fork but maintains the topography of the DNA molecule.
In Chapter 11, we discussed the function of DNA helicase,
As described in Table 11.3, what is the difference
Another technique described in Chapter 21 is polymerase chain reaction (PCR
Obtain two strings of different colors (e.g., black
Draw a picture that illustrates how DNA helicase works.
