What is the role of DNA polymerase during DNA replication?

DNA polymerase plays a crucial role in DNA replication by synthesizing new DNA strands. It does this by adding nucleotides to the growing DNA strand in a specific sequence complementary to the template strand. As the replication fork opens up, DNA polymerase interacts with the template strand to ensure accurate pairing of nucleotides, which enables the formation of a new strand that is an exact copy of the original DNA sequence. This process is fundamental to cell division, as it ensures that genetic information is precisely duplicated and passed on to daughter cells.

While other options describe important processes related to DNA replication and maintenance, they do not accurately capture the primary function of DNA polymerase. For instance, the unwinding of the DNA helix is performed by helicase, while DNA repair mechanisms involve other proteins and enzymes. Similarly, the rejoining of DNA strands is carried out by ligase, not DNA polymerase. Each of these roles is important for the overall process of DNA replication and maintenance, but it is DNA polymerase that is specifically responsible for the synthesis of new DNA strands.