What is the significance of Okazaki fragments?

Okazaki fragments are crucial components of DNA replication necessary for cell division since they are short segments of DNA that facilitate the synthesis of both daughter DNA strands. When Okazaki fragments are defective or not processed correctly, they can lead to DNA strand breaks and various chromosomal abnormalities. These mutations can alter the appearance of chromosomes, affect the number of individual chromosomes or change the number of chromosome sets.