The enzyme responsible for joining Okazaki fragments during DNA replication is DNA ligase.
Okazaki fragments:
These are short, newly synthesized DNA fragments that are formed on the lagging strand during DNA replication.
Lagging Strand Synthesis:
The lagging strand is synthesized discontinuously, meaning it's made in fragments.
Role of DNA ligase:
DNA ligase catalyzes the formation of a phosphodiester bond, effectively joining the sugar-phosphate backbones of adjacent Okazaki fragments, creating a continuous, double-stranded DNA molecule.
