How Prokaryotic DNA Copies Itself

Prokaryotic DNA copies itself through a set of coordinated steps called initiation, elongation, and termination. In bacteria, replication starts when initiator proteins bind to a single origin of replication, or ori, on the circular chromosome. The DNA is then copied in both directions until two DNA molecules are made.

In prokaryotes, such as E. coli, DNA replication of the circular, double–stranded genome begins at the origin of replication called OriC.

Initiator proteins bind to OriC and initiate DNA separation. Then, a helicase is loaded onto each strand to unwind the DNA further and form a replication bubble.

The unwound DNA...