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Another complication to replication on the lagging strand is the initiation of replication. Whereas the RNA primer on the leading strand only has to trigger the initiation of the strand once, on the lagging strand each individual Okazaki fragment must be triggered. On the lagging strand, then, an enzyme called primase that moves with the replication fork synthesizes numerous RNA primers, each of which triggers the growth of an Okazaki fragment. The RNA primers are eventually removed leaving gaps that are filled by the replication machinery.

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