Get to know an obscure scientist whose contribution to understanding of DNA has lead to okazaki fragment in his honour

1. REIJI OKAZAKI

2. REIJI OKAZAKI
✿ Reiji Okazaki was a pioneer japanese molecular
biologist.
✿ Discovered okazaki particles.
✿ Married to Tsuniki Okazaki, discoverer of RNA
primer

3. OKAZAKI FRAGMENTS
What are the Okazaki Fragments?
Okazaki fragments allow for the
replication of 3'-5' strand, known as
lagging strand
The 5'-3' strand, also known as the
leading strand, is replication in one
continuous piece
These exist because DNA replication
occurs in the 5'-3' direction because DNA
polymerase acts on the 3'-OH of the
existing strand for adding free
nucleotides

4. OKAZAKI'S LIFE
✿ Okazaki was born on 8th october 1930, Hiroshima,Japan
✿ He also had expertise in engineering but he chose to make career in
biology
✿ He married his fellow scientist Tsuneke Okazaki in 1958
✿ His first discovery of the novel nucleotide bought him an opportunity
to work under Kornberg's Laboratory in U.S.A
✿ Ms.Sakabe played an important role in the discovery of okazaki
fragments

5. OKAZAKI'S WOODEN
LABORATORY

6. AWARDS AND HONORS
✿ Tsuneko and Reiji Okazaki Award is given annually to an early
career scientist who has made significant biological
contributions in honor of the spirit and legacy of Professors
Okazaki
✿ Had he been alive,he would have been awarded a Nobel Prize

7. IMPLICATIONS OF HIS RESEARCH
✿ Okazaki fragments form on the lagging strand of DNA during transcription,because it helps
reduce strain put on the lagging strand.
✿ If they were all in one big chunk, it would make it more difficult for the transcription bubble to
stay open, as the strands would keep wanting to stiffen and stick to each other.
Conventionally, it was believed that there were two different enzymes, one elongating the strand
from the 5' to 3' direction and another elongating the strand from the 3' to 5' direction. However, in
fact, there was only one enzyme that elongates the strand from the 5' to 3' direction. So we
attempted to explain how two strands were oriented in the double helix with only one enzyme.-
Prof.Okazaki

8. REFERENCES
✿ wwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pMC5489436/
✿ https://www.revolvy.com/page/Reiji-Okazaki
✿ www.itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/public/nu_research/features/detail/003970.html
✿ http://www.itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp/okazaki_award/
✿ https://kundoc.com/pdf-reiji-okazaki-19301975-.html
✿ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5489436/
✿ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/22868133_Discontinuous_replication_of_
replicative_form_DNA_from_bacteriophage_phiX174