English: Most bacterial chromosomes take the form of a closed, double stranded circle of DNA. The DNA replication process starts at a single site on the chromosome called the origin, and proceeds in two directions. This is called bidirectional replication as two replication forks move in opposite directions away from the origin. The two original strands separate from each other and serve as templates for the synthesis of new strands, resulting in semiconservative replication as each strand has a new complementary strand built onto it. Replication is terminated when the forks meet and the two chromosomes separate. http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/content/5/7/a010108.full