DNA replication in most organisms occurs by which of the following models?

• A. Random replication, in which daughter molecules contain unpredictable mixtures of parental and newly synthesized strands without a consistent pattern
• B. Dispersive replication, in which parental and newly synthesized DNA are interspersed in both strands of each daughter molecule
• C. Conservative replication, in which the parental duplex remains intact and an entirely new duplex is synthesized
• D. Semiconservative replication, in which each daughter DNA molecule contains one parental strand and one newly synthesized strand

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the four models of DNA replication: random, dispersive, conservative, and semiconservative replication.
2. Define random replication as a model where daughter DNA molecules have unpredictable mixtures of parental and new strands without a consistent pattern.
3. Explain dispersive replication as a model where parental and newly synthesized DNA segments are interspersed within both strands of each daughter molecule.
4. Describe conservative replication as a model where the original parental DNA duplex remains intact, and a completely new duplex is synthesized separately.
5. Clarify semiconservative replication as the process where each daughter DNA molecule consists of one original parental strand paired with one newly synthesized strand, which is the actual mechanism used by most organisms.