What is the outcome of DNA replication for daughter cells?

• A. It produces an identical copy of the DNA in the cell that is passing to daughter cells.
• B. It produces different copies for each daughter cell.
• C. It uses RNA as its template.
• D. It occurs only during mitosis.

Answer: (A)

DNA replication copies the entire genome so each daughter cell ends up with the same genetic information as the parent. This process is semiconservative: every new DNA molecule contains one original strand and one newly synthesized strand, so the sequence preserved from the parent is passed on faithfully. The template used for copying is DNA itself, not RNA ( RNA only appears as short primers during synthesis, but the template is the DNA strands). Replication happens in the S phase of interphase, before cell division, not during mitosis, which is when the duplicated chromosomes are separated into daughter cells. So, the outcome is an identical copy of the parental DNA delivered to each daughter cell.