Learnohub

Question:

difference between leading strand and lagging strand

Answer:

Hi there!

The differences between leading and lagging strand are as follows:

Leading Strand	Lagging Strand
1. Synthesised complementary to the 3' - 5' direction of the replication fork strand.	1. Synthesised complementary to the 5' - 3' direction of the replication fork strand.
2. Synthesis is continuous.	2. Synthesis is discontinuous in the form of small fragments called Okazaki fragments.
3. Requires only one primer.	3. Requires primer for each fragment synthesis.
4. Does not requires ligase enzyme	4. Requires ligase enzyme for joining the Okazaki fragments
5. Grows away from the replication fork	5. Grows in the direction of replication fork.

Thanks