Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The chemical structure of DNA base-pairs . A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both DNA and RNA.
Each of the base pairs in a typical double-helix DNA comprises a purine and a pyrimidine: either an A paired with a T or a C paired with a G. These purine-pyrimidine pairs, which are called base complements, connect the two strands of the helix and are often compared to the rungs of a ladder. Only pairing purine with pyrimidine ensures a ...
The optimum length for circularization of DNA is around 400 base pairs (136 nm) [citation needed], with an integral number of turns of the DNA helix, i.e., multiples of 10.4 base pairs. Having a non integral number of turns presents a significant energy barrier for circularization, for example a 10.4 x 30 = 312 base pair molecule will ...
A purine base always pairs with a pyrimidine base (guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C) and adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T) or uracil (U)). DNA's secondary structure is predominantly determined by base-pairing of the two polynucleotide strands wrapped around each other to form a double helix .
In molecular biology, two nucleotides on opposite complementary DNA or RNA strands that are connected via hydrogen bonds are called a base pair (often abbreviated bp). In the canonical Watson-Crick base pairing, adenine (A) forms a base pair with thymine (T) and guanine (G) forms one with cytosine (C) in DNA. In RNA, thymine is replaced by ...
Thymine occurs only in DNA and uracil only in RNA. Using amino acids and protein synthesis, [2] the specific sequence in DNA of these nucleobase-pairs helps to keep and send coded instructions as genes. In RNA, base-pair sequencing helps to make new proteins that determine most chemical processes of all life forms.
A complementary strand of DNA or RNA may be constructed based on nucleobase complementarity. [2] Each base pair, A = T vs. G ≡ C, takes up roughly the same space, thereby enabling a twisted DNA double helix formation without any spatial distortions. Hydrogen bonding between the nucleobases also stabilizes the DNA double helix. [3]
Unlike double-stranded DNA, RNA is usually a single-stranded molecule (ssRNA) [4] in many of its biological roles and consists of much shorter chains of nucleotides. [5] However, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) can form and (moreover) a single RNA molecule can, by complementary base pairing, form intrastrand double helixes, as in tRNA.