Prior to cell division, cells replicate. Explain the process of DNA replication in prokaryotes.

Prokaryotic DNA is different to eukaryotic DNA in that prokaryotic DNA is circular, and thus has an origin of replication. When replication starts, it starts at this origin and occurs bidirectionally - meaning, it occurs to the right of this origin and the left of this origin at the same time (will be explained more clearly in the diagram). Apart from this, there is no difference between the replication processes of the eukaryotes and the prokaryotes, including all the enzymes involved. They are both methods of semi-conservative replication (IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU USE THIS EXACT TERM WHEN WRITING YOUR ANSWER!).  To make it easier to understand, I will highlight the important aspects of DNA replication in a concise list format:  1. DNA helicase "unzips" (breaks the hydrogen bonds between) the 2 complimentary DNA strands. One of these strands is called the leading strand, while the other is called the lagging strand.  2. Let's talk about the leading strand first. The leading strand is replicated continuously. After the helicase "unzips" the two strands, the enzyme primase comes along and places RNA primers on both the leading and lagging strands. 3. The RNA primers are basically the "start lines" for DNA Polymerase III. This is the main enzyme that is involved in the replication process. Wherever DNA Polymerase III finds RNA primers, it attaches a complimentary DNA nucleotide to its partner nucleotide on the leading strand. The addition of these complimentary DNA nucleotides happens continuosly in a 5'-3' direction.  4. Now, for the lagging strand. The lagging strand is a bit more complicated because replication here occurs discontinuously. Again, we start with the primase which attaches RNA primers, allowing DNA Polyermase III to detect the "starting lines" of replication. HOWEVER, DNA polyemerase can only attach complimentary DNA nucleotides in a 5'-3' direction. This, is a problem. Always remember - DNA strands are anti-parallel complimentry strands. This means that, if one strand is in a 5'-3' direction (the leading strand), its complimentary strand, must be in the 3'-5' direction (lagging strand). So - if the polymerase can only replicate in the leading strand direction, how will it be able to replicate the lagging strand? This is where those RNA primer "starting lines" come in handy! Primase can move in both 5'-3' and 3'-5' direction. While DNA polymerase III is replicating in a 5'-3' direction, primase is placing RNA primers in a 3'-5' direction (which is the direction of the lagging strand). Once polymerase III is done with replicating a certain portion of the DNA strand containing the primers, it leap frogs to another section of the DNA where primers are already present and continues to do the same 5'-3' replication (will be explained more clearly in the diagram). This is why replication on the lagging strand occurs in a discontinuous fashion.  5. Once polymerase III has replicated all the RNA primers, the new DNA strand is left fragmented. These fragments of DNA are called Okazaki fragments. To make the DNA one continuous chain of nucleotides, ligase "glues" the fragments together.  6. Polymerase I then comes around and removes all the RNA primers that were placed there by the primase on both the strands and 2 new duplicate circular DNA strands are created.