This leads to the formation of major and minor grooves. In the DNA double helix the strands of the backbone are closer together on one side of the helix than they are on the other. The transcribed mRNA is then translated to a polypeptide in a process called translation by tRNA. The process of DNA being copied into mRNA is termed transcription.

DNA is copied into mRNA (messenger RNA) which carries the information from the original DNA template strand to be involved in protein synthesis. Each strand acts as a template for the other one in DNA replication. These interactions form bridges between two DNA chains, thus creating a double-stranded 'ladder' shaped structure. In between these bases are hydrophobic interactions known as van der Waal forces. The complementary base pairs in DNA interact with one another via hydrogen bonds: A-T interactions consist of 2 intermolecular hydrogen bonds, whereas G-C interactions consist of 3 intermolecular hydrogen bonds. In order to produce a double-stranded DNA structure, interactions occur between complementary bases. The deoxyribose sugar/ phosphate group region is regarded as the 'backbone' of DNA strands due to its structural purpose and the sequence of bases carries the gentic information. Its chemical formula is C 5H 10O 4), a phosphate group (which forms a phosphodiester bond: connecting 2 deoxyribose sugars together) and a nitrogenous base (one from A (Adenine), C ( Cytosine), G ( Guanine) or T (Thymine), which forms a side chain branching from the 1' carbon of the 2` deoxyribose sugar). A nucleotide consists of: a 2` deoxyribose sugar (A five-carbon pentose similar to that of ribose sugar found in RNA. Humans have 99.5% similarities with other humans in their DNA.ĭNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid) is a chain of monomers (repeating units) called ' nucleotides'. The phosphate group is attached to the sugar through a phosphodiester bond. DNA also contains a phosphate group connected to a deoxyribose sugar. These form complementary base pairs of A-T and G-C. DNA is composed of 4 bases: the purines, adenine (A) and guanine (G) and pyrimidines, thymine (T) and cytosine (C). The structure of DNA was first identified as having a 'double-helix' structure by Watson and Crick in 1953. It is arranged into structures called chromosomes. DNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic information found in the nuclei of most organisms.

Dna backbone structure