Final answer:
Single-stranded binding proteins stabilize the unwound DNA after helicase unwinds it during replication. They prevent reannealing and allow each strand to be used as a template. Additionally, enzymes like topoisomerase and primase play crucial roles in relieving tension and initiating DNA synthesis, respectively.
Step-by-step explanation:
After DNA has been unwound by helicase, single-stranded binding proteins attach tightly to the exposed single-stranded DNA. These proteins are crucial as they stabilize the unwound DNA and prevent the strands from reannealing, which ensures that each strand can serve as a template for replication.
Helicase is an enzyme that unwinds the DNA at the origin of replication, creating replication forks. As the DNA unwinds, the replication forks are extended bidirectionally. To alleviate the tension that this causes, another enzyme, topoisomerase, acts ahead of the replication fork to cut and then reattach the DNA's phosphate backbone, thereby relaxing the supercoiled DNA.
Furthermore, DNA polymerase requires a starting point to begin replication. This is provided by primase, which synthesizes a short RNA primer. DNA polymerase then uses this primer to synthesize the new DNA strand. If helicase were to be mutated, the DNA strands would not be properly separated at the onset of replication, severely affecting the entire process.