What role does helicase play in DNA replication?

• A. It synthesizes RNA primers needed to initiate DNA synthesis on the leading and lagging strands.
• B. It adds nucleotides to the growing DNA strand in the $5\prime$ to $3\prime$ direction using the template strand.
• C. It unwinds the double helix by breaking hydrogen bonds between complementary bases, separating the two strands at the replication fork.
• D. It joins Okazaki fragments by forming phosphodiester bonds to create a continuous DNA strand.

Answer: (C)