45 Facts About Double-stranded DNA

1.

Two Double-stranded DNA strands are known as polynucleotides as they are composed of simpler monomeric units called nucleotides.

FactSnippet No. 737,281
2.

Double-stranded DNA is a long polymer made from repeating units called nucleotides, each of which is usually symbolized by a single letter: either.

FactSnippet No. 737,282
3.

The structure of Double-stranded DNA is dynamic along its length, being capable of coiling into tight loops and other shapes.

FactSnippet No. 737,283
4.

Backbone of the Double-stranded DNA strand is made from alternating phosphate and sugar groups.

FactSnippet No. 737,284
5.

The sugar in Double-stranded DNA is 2-deoxyribose, which is a pentose sugar.

FactSnippet No. 737,285
6.

Therefore, any Double-stranded DNA strand normally has one end at which there is a phosphate group attached to the 5' carbon of a ribose and another end at which there is a free hydroxyl group attached to the 3' carbon of a ribose .

FactSnippet No. 737,286
7.

The asymmetric ends of Double-stranded DNA strands are said to have a directionality of five prime end, and three prime end, with the 5' end having a terminal phosphate group and the 3' end a terminal hydroxyl group.

FactSnippet No. 737,287
8.

Stability of the dsDouble-stranded DNA form depends not only on the -content but on sequence and length .

FactSnippet No. 737,288
9.

Double-stranded DNA sequence is called a "sense" sequence if it is the same as that of a messenger RNA copy that is translated into protein.

FactSnippet No. 737,289
10.

Double-stranded DNA can be twisted like a rope in a process called Double-stranded DNA supercoiling.

FactSnippet No. 737,290
11.

In nature, most Double-stranded DNA has slight negative supercoiling that is introduced by enzymes called topoisomerases.

FactSnippet No. 737,291
12.

The conformation that Double-stranded DNA adopts depends on the hydration level, Double-stranded DNA sequence, the amount and direction of supercoiling, chemical modifications of the bases, the type and concentration of metal ions, and the presence of polyamines in solution.

FactSnippet No. 737,292
13.

At the very end of the T-loop, the single-stranded telomere DNA is held onto a region of double-stranded DNA by the telomere strand disrupting the double-helical DNA and base pairing to one of the two strands.

FactSnippet No. 737,293
14.

In Double-stranded DNA, fraying occurs when non-complementary regions exist at the end of an otherwise complementary double-strand of Double-stranded DNA.

FactSnippet No. 737,294
15.

However, branched Double-stranded DNA can occur if a third strand of Double-stranded DNA is introduced and contains adjoining regions able to hybridize with the frayed regions of the pre-existing double-strand.

FactSnippet No. 737,295
16.

Phosphate groups of Double-stranded DNA give it similar acidic properties to phosphoric acid and it can be considered as a strong acid.

FactSnippet No. 737,296
17.

Double-stranded DNA can be damaged by many sorts of mutagens, which change the Double-stranded DNA sequence.

FactSnippet No. 737,297
18.

For example, UV light can damage Double-stranded DNA by producing thymine dimers, which are cross-links between pyrimidine bases.

FactSnippet No. 737,298
19.

Double-stranded DNA usually occurs as linear chromosomes in eukaryotes, and circular chromosomes in prokaryotes.

FactSnippet No. 737,299
20.

The information carried by Double-stranded DNA is held in the sequence of pieces of Double-stranded DNA called genes.

FactSnippet No. 737,300
21.

For example, in transcription, when a cell uses the information in a gene, the Double-stranded DNA sequence is copied into a complementary RNA sequence through the attraction between the Double-stranded DNA and the correct RNA nucleotides.

FactSnippet No. 737,301
22.

Genomic Double-stranded DNA is tightly and orderly packed in the process called Double-stranded DNA condensation, to fit the small available volumes of the cell.

FactSnippet No. 737,302
23.

In eukaryotes, Double-stranded DNA is located in the cell nucleus, with small amounts in mitochondria and chloroplasts.

FactSnippet No. 737,303
24.

In prokaryotes, the Double-stranded DNA is held within an irregularly shaped body in the cytoplasm called the nucleoid.

FactSnippet No. 737,304
25.

Gene is a sequence of Double-stranded DNA that contains genetic information and can influence the phenotype of an organism.

FactSnippet No. 737,305
26.

Cell-free fetal Double-stranded DNA is found in the blood of the mother, and can be sequenced to determine a great deal of information about the developing fetus.

FactSnippet No. 737,306
27.

Under the name of environmental Double-stranded DNA eDouble-stranded DNA has seen increased use in the natural sciences as a survey tool for ecology, monitoring the movements and presence of species in water, air, or on land, and assessing an area's biodiversity.

FactSnippet No. 737,307
28.

Neutrophil extracellular traps are networks of extracellular fibers, primarily composed of Double-stranded DNA, which allow neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, to kill extracellular pathogens while minimizing damage to the host cells.

FactSnippet No. 737,308
29.

Structural proteins that bind Double-stranded DNA are well-understood examples of non-specific Double-stranded DNA-protein interactions.

FactSnippet No. 737,309
30.

In eukaryotes, this structure involves Double-stranded DNA binding to a complex of small basic proteins called histones, while in prokaryotes multiple types of proteins are involved.

FactSnippet No. 737,310
31.

Nucleases that hydrolyse nucleotides from the ends of Double-stranded DNA strands are called exonucleases, while endonucleases cut within strands.

FactSnippet No. 737,311
32.

RNA-dependent Double-stranded DNA polymerases are a specialized class of polymerases that copy the sequence of an RNA strand into Double-stranded DNA.

FactSnippet No. 737,312
33.

Double-stranded DNA contains the genetic information that allows all forms of life to function, grow and reproduce.

FactSnippet No. 737,313
34.

Claims for older Double-stranded DNA have been made, most notably a report of the isolation of a viable bacterium from a salt crystal 250 million years old, but these claims are controversial.

FactSnippet No. 737,314
35.

Double-stranded DNA profiling was developed in 1984 by British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys, and first used in forensic science to convict Colin Pitchfork in the 1988 Enderby murders case.

FactSnippet No. 737,315
36.

The most obvious defense to Double-stranded DNA matches obtained forensically is to claim that cross-contamination of evidence has occurred.

FactSnippet No. 737,316
37.

Double-stranded DNA profiling is used successfully to positively identify victims of mass casualty incidents, bodies or body parts in serious accidents, and individual victims in mass war graves, via matching to family members.

FactSnippet No. 737,317
38.

Double-stranded DNA profiling is used in Double-stranded DNA paternity testing to determine if someone is the biological parent or grandparent of a child with the probability of parentage is typically 99.

FactSnippet No. 737,318
39.

Double-stranded DNA is thus used as a structural material rather than as a carrier of biological information.

FactSnippet No. 737,319
40.

Nanomechanical devices and algorithmic self-assembly have been demonstrated, and these Double-stranded DNA structures have been used to template the arrangement of other molecules such as gold nanoparticles and streptavidin proteins.

FactSnippet No. 737,320
41.

Double-stranded DNA collects mutations over time, which are then inherited, it contains historical information, and, by comparing Double-stranded DNA sequences, geneticists can infer the evolutionary history of organisms, their phylogeny.

FactSnippet No. 737,321
42.

Double-stranded DNA was first isolated by the Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher who, in 1869, discovered a microscopic substance in the pus of discarded surgical bandages.

FactSnippet No. 737,322
43.

Levene suggested that Double-stranded DNA consisted of a string of four nucleotide units linked together through the phosphate groups .

FactSnippet No. 737,323
44.

In 1933, while studying virgin sea urchin eggs, Jean Brachet suggested that Double-stranded DNA is found in the cell nucleus and that RNA is present exclusively in the cytoplasm.

FactSnippet No. 737,324
45.

Franklin's identification of the space group for Double-stranded DNA crystals revealed to Crick that the two Double-stranded DNA strands were antiparallel.

FactSnippet No. 737,325