semiconservative


sem·i·con·ser·va·tive

(sem'ē-kon-ser'vă-tiv), The process of replicating DNA in which the two strands remain intact, separate, and are copied and one parental strand goes to each daughter cell.

semiconservative

adjective Referring to the method of replication of DNA, first postulated by Watson and Crick in 1953, in which the replicating DNA molecule divides longitudinally, each half-strand being conserved and acting as a template for the formation of a new half.