The lagging strand of DNA is replicated in a discontinuous manner. In this process, Okasaki fragments:

The lagging strand of DNA is replicated discontinuously, in the opposite direction to the unwinding DNA. This process involves the creation of Okazaki fragments. Here are the steps:

1. The replication fork moves along the DNA strand, unwinding it and separating the two strands.

2. On the leading strand, DNA polymerase synthesizes a new strand of DNA continuously, in the same direction as the unwinding DNA.

3. On the lagging strand, DNA polymerase synthesizes new DNA in the opposite direction to the unwinding DNA. Because of this, it cannot work continuously as it does on the leading strand.

4. Instead, an enzyme called primase synthesizes a short RNA primer on the lagging strand. This primer acts as a starting point for DNA polymerase.

5. DNA polymerase then adds nucleotides to the RNA primer, creating a short segment of DNA. This segment is an Okazaki fragment.

6. When DNA polymerase reaches the RNA primer of the previous Okazaki fragment, it detaches.

7. The RNA primer is then removed and replaced with DNA by another enzyme. This leaves a gap in the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA.

8. The enzyme DNA ligase then seals this gap, joining the Okazaki fragments together into a continuous strand.

This process repeats along the length of the lagging strand, creating a series of Okazaki fragments that are eventually joined together to form a complete DNA strand.