Which feature describes prokaryotic DNA replication?

Which feature describes prokaryotic DNA replication?

• A. It has multiple origins of replication and many replication bubbles
• B. It has a single origin of replication and a single replication bubble
• C. It occurs inside a nucleus
• D. It relies on RNA splicing during replication

Answer: (B)

Prokaryotic DNA replication starts at a single origin on a circular chromosome and proceeds bidirectionally to form one replication bubble. This setup fits bacteria and other prokaryotes because there’s no nucleus and the chromosome is circular, so a single origin can efficiently kick off replication and the two forks move in opposite directions until they meet. In contrast, eukaryotic chromosomes are linear and have multiple origins of replication, creating several bubbles. Also, replication does not involve RNA splicing—that’s a post-transcriptional RNA processing step, not part of duplicating DNA or happening inside a nucleus.

Prokaryotic DNA replication starts at a single origin on a circular chromosome and proceeds bidirectionally to form one replication bubble. This setup fits bacteria and other prokaryotes because there’s no nucleus and the chromosome is circular, so a single origin can efficiently kick off replication and the two forks move in opposite directions until they meet. In contrast, eukaryotic chromosomes are linear and have multiple origins of replication, creating several bubbles. Also, replication does not involve RNA splicing—that’s a post-transcriptional RNA processing step, not part of duplicating DNA or happening inside a nucleus.