Final answer:
The process that corrects errors in nucleotide selection after DNA replication is known as mismatch repair. This system uses specific enzymes to identify and replace mispaired nucleotides with the correct ones, which helps maintain the fidelity of DNA replication.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most of the errors that do arise in nucleotide selection are corrected in a second process called mismatch repair. After the initial replication process, there might be some nucleotides that have been mispaired. These are addressed by a repair mechanism that is apart from the proofreading function carried out by DNA polymerase. The mismatch repair (MMR) system consists of enzymes that recognize these mispaired nucleotides, excise the incorrect portion of the DNA strand,and then accurately resynthesize the missing DNA using the correct, complementary nucleotides.
In prokaryotes like E. coli, the mismatch repair mechanism involves methyl-directed mismatch repair, where after replication, the older parent DNA strand is identified by its methylation. The newly synthesized strand is not methylated immediately, providing a mark for the enzymes: MutS, MutL, and MutH, which identify and initiate the repair on the newly synthesized, unmethylated strand.