What does DNA polymerase do in DNA replication?

DNA polymerase is a key enzyme in DNA replication that catalyzes the addition of nucleotides to the growing DNA strand. It reads the template strand in the 3′ to 5′ direction and synthesizes a new complementary strand in the 5′ to 3′ direction. DNA polymerase also has proofreading ability, allowing it to detect and correct errors during replication, enhancing the accuracy of the process. Additionally, it works with primase to extend the RNA primer on the leading and lagging strands during elongation.