Question

During the DNA replication in a newly found eukaryotic species, DNA polymerase synthesizes new strands of DNA at an average rate of 40 nucleotide/ sec. Scientists determined that the genome size of this organism is 1 million base pairs (bp) and 500 replication of origins are present. How long it would take to complete DNA replication of its entire genome?

Answer 1

It would take 25 seconds to complete DNA replication of the eukaryotic organism's entire genome, assuming a rate of 40 nucleotides per second and 500 origins of replication working simultaneously.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this eukaryotic species, DNA replication occurs at 40 nucleotides per second. With a genome size of 1 million base pairs and 500 origins of replication, we can calculate the time it takes to replicate the entire genome. Since replication happens bi-directionally from each origin, the number of nucleotides added per origin per second is 80 (40 nucleotides per second in each direction).

Next, we divide the total number of base pairs by the rate of nucleotide addition per origin:
1,000,000 base pairs / 80 nucleotides/origin/sec = 12,500 seconds/origin.

However, with 500 origins working simultaneously, the replication time is divided across these origins:
12,500 seconds / 500 origins = 25 seconds.

Therefore, it would take 25 seconds to complete DNA replication of its entire genome, assuming a perfect efficiency without any delays or interruptions in the replication process.