DNA ReplicationSemi-conservative replication, and why one strand is made in pieces.BiologyThe mechanism at a replication fork.1Helicase unwindsBreaking hydrogen bonds between the strands.2Primase lays an RNA primerDNA polymerase cannot start from nothing.3Leading strand, continuousSynthesised 5' to 3' toward the fork.4Lagging strand, in fragmentsOkazaki fragments, made away from the fork.5Ligase joins themSealing the sugar-phosphate backbone.SEMI-CONSERVATIVEEach new molecule keeps one parental strandMeselson and Stahl demonstrated it with ¹⁵N labellingDNA polymerase proofreads as it goes, giving an error rate of roughlyone per billion bases.DNA Replicationlearnposters.com
DNA Replication — printable life science wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

DNA Replication, step by step

The mechanism at a replication fork.

  1. Helicase unwindsBreaking hydrogen bonds between the strands.
  2. Primase lays an RNA primerDNA polymerase cannot start from nothing.
  3. Leading strand, continuousSynthesised 5' to 3' toward the fork.
  4. Lagging strand, in fragmentsOkazaki fragments, made away from the fork.
  5. Ligase joins themSealing the sugar-phosphate backbone.

Semi-conservative

  • Each new molecule keeps one parental strand
  • Meselson and Stahl demonstrated it with ¹⁵N labelling

DNA polymerase proofreads as it goes, giving an error rate of roughly one per billion bases.

Questions about the DNA Replication poster

What’s on the DNA Replication poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The mechanism at a replication fork. Helicase unwinds — Breaking hydrogen bonds between the strands.; Primase lays an RNA primer — DNA polymerase cannot start from nothing.; Leading strand, continuous — Synthesised 5' to 3' toward the fork.; Lagging strand, in fragments — Okazaki fragments, made away from the fork.; Ligase joins them — Sealing the sugar-phosphate backbone.. DNA polymerase proofreads as it goes, giving an error rate of roughly one per billion bases.
Who is the DNA Replication poster for?
DNA Replication belongs to the Biology section rather than to a school year, because life science is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning cell biology can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the DNA Replication poster?
Both strands are copied at once, but polymerase only works 5' to 3'. That asymmetry creates the lagging strand. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so DNA Replication belongs on the wall where that life science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with DNA Replication?
Cell Cycle Control, Differentiation and The Cell Membrane sit alongside DNA Replication in the Biology section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Cell Cycle ControlDifferentiationThe Cell Membrane
Is the DNA Replication poster free to download and print?
Yes. DNA Replication downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Biology section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the DNA Replication poster print at?
DNA Replication is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of DNA Replication loses nothing.Printing guide

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