Question

What is the major difference between bacterial and eukaryotic replication that allows a eukaryotic cell to replicate its DNA in a reasonable amount of time?

A. Bacterial replication is unidirectional, while eukaryotic replication is bidirectional.
B. Bacterial cells have a single origin of replication, whereas eukaryotic cells have multiple origins.
C. Eukaryotic cells lack DNA polymerase, unlike bacterial cells.
D. Bacterial replication occurs in the nucleus, while eukaryotic replication occurs in the cytoplasm.

Answer 1

The key difference between bacterial and eukaryotic DNA replication is that eukaryotic cells have multiple origins of replication allowing them to replicate large genomes efficiently, in contrast to bacteria's single origin of replication.

Step-by-step explanation:

The major difference between bacterial and eukaryotic replication that allows a eukaryotic cell to replicate its DNA in a reasonable amount of time is B. Bacterial cells have a single origin of replication, whereas eukaryotic cells have multiple origins. This difference is essential considering the fact that eukaryotic chromosomes are typically linear and contain multiple origins of replication, allowing simultaneous DNA synthesis at several points throughout the genome. This mechanism compensates for the slower rate of replication in eukaryotes compared to prokaryotes, where the entire genome is rapidly replicated from a single origin. In contrast, eukaryotic DNA replication requires multiple replication forks to handle the larger and more complex genomes efficiently.