Twisted double Helix

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biochemical
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Twisted double Helix

Post by biochemical » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:48 pm

Maybe this is a silly question, but I just wanna know, why DNA is formed in twisted double helix? Why not just straight like RNA? Thanks for helping. I find this forum has assisted me much in doing school tasks... :D
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oppox
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Post by oppox » Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:22 pm

evolution, DNA is more stable that way then RNA. maybe its a more energetic conformation, the H-bonds between the bases forces it to adopt that structure. RNA is "always" single stranded so it doesnt have the pairing bases. Thats what I could come up with at the moment :)
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MrMistery
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Post by MrMistery » Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:04 pm

actually, DNA can be single stranded. there are some viruses that have single stranded DNA as genetic material: phiX174, phiM16 etc..
DNA can even exist as a strange triple-stranded molecule, the triplex, or even as a tetraplex(if i remember correctly, this can happen if the DNA only consists of guanine bases)
it is just that evolution has favoured the duble stranded B-form DNA over the others because of the increased stability confered by hydrogen bonding and the possibility of long length.
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Post by lara » Sat Oct 14, 2006 9:48 am

maybe to lodge histones and interact with other ions in the major and minor grooves and protect from nucleases.
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victor
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Post by victor » Sun Oct 15, 2006 3:27 am

Well....see this article..:D
I think it will answer your question

Uncovering DNA's sweet secret[/url]
Q: Why are chemists great for solving problems?
A: They have all the solutions.
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fluktuacia
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Post by fluktuacia » Mon Oct 16, 2006 1:20 pm

very interesting.. thx:)
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Amrik
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Post by Amrik » Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:47 pm

i have read that..uncovering DNA's sweet secret...it is very interesting!
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biochemical
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Post by biochemical » Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:04 pm

Plenty of thanks, Friends... It absobloodylutey meet my question...
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