Final answer:
Proteins known as enzymes, specifically DNA polymerase and helicase, are essential in DNA replication for adding nucleotides to a new DNA strand and unwinding the double helix, respectively. They function at specific sites called origins of replication and utilize energy from nucleotide triphosphates similar to ATP.
Step-by-step explanation:
We know that proteins are the enzymes that carry out DNA replication because there are specific enzymes that are critical to the process. A key enzyme is DNA polymerase, which adds nucleotides one by one to the growing DNA chain that are complementary to the template strand. DNA replication employs a specific set of proteins, including helicase to unwind the DNA, DNA binding proteins to keep the strands apart, and a number of polymerases like DNA pol III in prokaryotes and DNA polymerase alpha, delta, and epsilon in eukaryotes, which are essential for the synthesis of new DNA strands. In eukaryotes, replication begins at specific sequences called origins of replication, where proteins bind and helicase unwinds the DNA. The process of replication requires energy similarly to ATP, which is provided by the nucleotides with three phosphate groups.