Final answer:
Eukaryotic DNA replication is more complex than in prokaryotes, involving multiple origins of replication and slower replication rates, along with a need for additional enzymes and proteins due to the larger and more complex eukaryotic genomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Overall, DNA replication in eukaryotic cells resembles that in bacterial cells, but there are several additional complexities due to the size and structure of eukaryotic genomes. Eukaryotic genomes are much more complex and larger than prokaryotic genomes. For instance, the human genome has 3 billion base pairs per haploid set of chromosomes, and 6 billion base pairs are replicated during the S phase of the cell cycle.
Unlike prokaryotes that have a single origin of replication, eukaryotic chromosomes have multiple origins of replication, with humans having anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 origins across the genome. This requires the orchestration of multiple replication forks. Additionally, replication occurs at a slower rate in eukaryotes, approximately 100 nucleotides per second, which is about 10 times slower than prokaryotic replication.
Furthermore, eukaryotic DNA is highly supercoiled and packaged around proteins such as histones, necessitating the use of additional enzymes and proteins for replication. These include helicase to unwind the DNA, topoisomerase to relax supercoiling, single-stranded binding proteins, RNA primase, and specific DNA polymerases for the leading and lagging strands. Also involved are sliding clamp proteins to hold DNA polymerase in place and ribonuclease H (RNase H) for RNA primer removal, with the gaps being sealed by DNA ligase.