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DNA polymerase III (not DNA polymerase) is an enzyme that works in association with other enzymes during the replication of a DNA molecule. DNA replication begins when the enzyme, known as helicase unwinds a DNA strand. Helicase unwinds a DNA strand, thus, in the process, separating the two DNA templates. The result of the unwinding of the DNA molecule is the formation of a replication bubble. Once a DNA molecule is unwound, it is not stable. The DNA molecule is untwisted, broken and rearranged by an enzyme called topoisomerase in order to create stability at the ends of a replication bubble. In addition, the DNA replication bubble is further stabilized by a group of protein complexes known as single strand binding proteins.

Once the DNA molecule is unwound and stabilized, an enzyme called primase assembles an RNA sequence that is complementary to the adjacent DNA template. The purpose of this initial RNA sequence is to provide a point at which DNA polymerase III can start to add nucleotides to the corresponding DNA template. Unlike RNA polymerase, DNA polymerase III requires an RNA sequence, which is known as a primer. DNA polymerase III can attach a nucleotide only to the 3 prime end of an existing nucleotide sequence. Once a primer is assembled by primase, DNA polymerase III begins its work of adding nucleotides to the 3 prime end of the primer.

It is important to note that replication proceeds in two directions, since a DNA replication bubble consists of two DNA templates. Since DNA polymerase III proceeds in the three prime to 5 prime direction at one DNA template, it also has to proceed in the 3 prime to 5 prime direction on the other DNA template. Since the template run in opposite directions, the second template will consist of multiple primers and thus short segments of DNA. These short segments of DNA are known as Okazaki fragments. The Okazaki fragments are created by DNA polymerase three since it is only able to proceed in the 3 prime to 5 prime direction.

After DNA polymerase III completes its work, DNA polymerase I begins to replace the RNA nucleotides of the primers with DNA nucleotides. Once DNA polymerase I replaces the RNA nucleotides with DNA nucleotides, DNA ligase joins the Okazaki fragments together and the result is a new DNA template.

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