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An unnatural base pair (UBP) is a designed subunit (or nucleobase) of DNA which is created in a laboratory and does not occur in nature. DNA sequences have been described which use newly created nucleobases to form a third base pair, in addition to the two base pairs found in nature, A-T (adenine – thymine) and G-C (guanine – cytosine).
DNA and RNA also contain other (non-primary) bases that have been modified after the nucleic acid chain has been formed. In DNA, the most common modified base is 5-methylcytosine (m 5 C). In RNA, there are many modified bases, including those contained in the nucleosides pseudouridine (Ψ), dihydrouridine (D), inosine (I), and 7-methylguanosine ...
All living cells contain both DNA and RNA (except some cells such as mature red blood cells), while viruses contain either DNA or RNA, but usually not both. [15] The basic component of biological nucleic acids is the nucleotide, each of which contains a pentose sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and a nucleobase. [16]
The integrity of the DNA was maintained by a group of repair enzymes including DNA topoisomerase. [20] If the genetic code was based on dual-stranded DNA, it was expressed by copying the information to single-stranded RNA. The RNA was produced by a DNA-dependent RNA polymerase using nucleotides similar to those of DNA. [15]
RNA adopts this double helical form, and RNA-DNA duplexes are mostly A-form, but B-form RNA-DNA duplexes have been observed. [14] In localized single strand dinucleotide contexts, RNA can also adopt the B-form without pairing to DNA. [15] A-DNA has a deep, narrow major groove which does not make it easily accessible to proteins.
Nucleic acids consist of a chain of linked units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of three subunits: a phosphate group and a sugar (ribose in the case of RNA, deoxyribose in DNA) make up the backbone of the nucleic acid strand, and attached to the sugar is one of a set of nucleobases.
A biopolymer comprising multiple linked nucleotides (as in DNA) is called a polynucleotide. [13] The backbone of the DNA strand is made from alternating phosphate and sugar groups. [14] The sugar in DNA is 2-deoxyribose, which is a pentose (five-carbon) sugar.
The side opposite to the sugar linked vertex is traditionally called the Watson-Crick edge, since they are involved in forming the Watson-Crick base pairs which constitute building blocks of double helical DNA. The two sides adjacent to the sugar-linked vertex are referred to, respectively, as the Sugar and Hoogsteen (C-H for pyrimidines) edges.