Question

What is DNA? Add a note on the structure of DNA.

Answer 1

Deoxyribonucleotide Acid or DNA is a polynucleotide made of repeated units of nucleotide. Each nucleotide contains a phosphate group attached to the 5' end of the deoxyribose sugar and a nitrogenous base attached to the 1' end of the same sugar. The structure of DNA shows the following features:

1. It is a double helical structure.
2. The helices are wound around each other in a right-handed fashion and are linked by the hydrogen bonds between the bases.
3. The backbone of the helix is made up of phosphate and deoxyribose sugar.
4. There are around 10 bases in each turn of the helix.
5. The strands are anti-parallel, one runs in 5'-3' and the other runs in 3'-5'.
6. The pitch of the DNA is 3.32 nm.