Chapter 17, Problem 31RQ

Summary Introduction

To review:

The reason that Chargaff’s rule is applicable to DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and not RNA (ribonucleic acid).

Introduction:

A nucleotide is composed of a nitrogenous base, sugar molecules, and the phosphate group. Many nucleotidesjoin to form polynucleotide chain. DNA is a double-stranded polynucleotide molecule, while RNA is a single-stranded polynucleotide molecule. The main difference between DNA and RNA is that there is an oxygen atom present at the 2’-carbon (2 prime) of the nucleotide sugar in RNA, while it is absent in the case of DNA.