Understanding Leading and Lagging Strands in DNA Replication

Steps:

• Recall semi-conservative replication unwinds DNA, creating a replication fork.
• Identify leading strand synthesizes continuously in 5' to 3' direction toward fork.
• Identify lagging strand synthesizes discontinuously away from fork, forming Okazaki fragments.
• Match properties: leading is continuous/smooth; lagging is discontinuous/fragmented.

Why A is correct:

• Lagging strand matches discontinuous synthesis and requires multiple RNA primers, per the definition of antiparallel DNA strands and polymerase directionality.

Why the others are wrong:

• B incorrectly assigns both properties to leading, ignoring lagging's fragmentation.
• C reverses the order, mismatching continuous synthesis to lagging.
• D swaps leading with lagging, contradicting continuous vs. discontinuous properties.

Not enough information to confirm exact row properties, but assuming standard continuous/discontinuous match.

Final answer: A