Meaning & use
semiconservative
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a nounbiology
Describing DNA copying in which each new double helix keeps one original strand and gets one newly built strand.
Grammar: Used before a noun: semiconservative replication.
Patterns
- semiconservative replication
- semiconservative model
DNA is copied by semiconservative replication.
The Meselson-Stahl experiment supported the semiconservative model.
In a semiconservative process, each daughter molecule contains an old strand.
Common combinations
- semiconservative replication
- Semiconservative replication keeps genetic information accurate.
- the semiconservative model
- Students compare the semiconservative model with the other two.
- semiconservative copying
- Semiconservative copying produces two identical molecules.
- semiconservative nature
- The semiconservative nature of DNA helps preserve genes.
Synonyms and how they differ
Opposites
Word family
- conserve verb
- to keep from being lost
- conservative adjective
- here, keeping the original whole
- semiconservatively adverb
- in a semiconservative way
- replication noun
- the process of copying
Commonly confused: semiconservative or conservative replication?
semiconservative vs conservative replication
In a conservative model the original double helix stays intact and a wholly new one is made, which is not what happens in cells.
Practice
In semiconservative replication, each new DNA molecule contains ___.
Choose one answer.
Semiconservative means half is conserved: one old strand pairs with one new strand. Two old strands would be conservative replication.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “semiconservative”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.