Here's a breakdown of its functions:
* Connecting nucleotides: DNA polymerase adds new nucleotides to the existing DNA strand, following the base pairing rules (A with T, and C with G). It essentially "reads" the template strand and uses it to create a complementary strand.
* Proofreading: DNA polymerase has a built-in "proofreading" mechanism. After adding a nucleotide, it checks if the base pairing is correct. If not, it removes the incorrect nucleotide and replaces it with the correct one. This ensures the fidelity of DNA replication and minimizes errors.
There are several types of DNA polymerase involved in different stages of replication, but they all share these core functions.
