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3 - DNA

The Molecule

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2022

Andrew Travers
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

Today the feature of DNA that defines the molecule is the fact that the two strands are entwined as a right-handed double helix. In common parlance, DNA is ‘the double helix’. While this double-helical character is not required by the base complementarity per se – a simple straight ladder structure would fulfill this function just as well – it does impart crucial physical and chemical properties to the polymer. It is these properties that play a major role in the biological function of DNA. The genetic functions of DNA can thus be understood as the synergism of two properties – a tape containing the information store encoding the sequences of proteins and RNA molecules and a polymer existing as double-helical string enabling the packaging, accessibility and replication of the information store. Crucially not only the coding of proteins and RNA molecules but also the physicochemical properties of the polymer are specified by the base sequence.

Type
Chapter
Information
Why DNA?
From DNA Sequence to Biological Complexity
, pp. 53 - 92
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • DNA
  • Andrew Travers, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Why DNA?
  • Online publication: 05 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107297241.004
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  • DNA
  • Andrew Travers, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Why DNA?
  • Online publication: 05 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107297241.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • DNA
  • Andrew Travers, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Why DNA?
  • Online publication: 05 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107297241.004
Available formats
×