What is DNA replication necessary for?

Question

Explain the roles of helicase and polymerase in DNA replication.

Answer 1

DNA replication is necessary to make more copies of DNA.

This is useful for:
o Making another copy for cell division
o Making RNA copies to produce proteins

Helicase
Many cellular processes (DNA replication, RNA transcription, DNA recombination, DNA repair, Ribosome biogenesis) involve the separation of nucleic acid strands. Helicases are often utilized to separate strands of a DNA double helix or a self-annealed RNA molecule using the energy from ATP or GTP hydrolysis. They move incrementally along one nucleic acid strand of the duplex with a directionality specific to each particular enzyme. There are many helicases (14 confirmed in E. coli, 24 in human cells) resulting from the great variety of processes in which strand separation must be catalyzed.

Polymerase
A DNA polymerase is an enzyme that assists in DNA replication. Such enzymes catalyze the polymerization of deoxyribonucleotides alongside a DNA strand, which they "read" and use as a template. The newly-polymerized molecule is complementary to the template strand and identical to the template's partner strand.

Answer 2

growth and reproduction