Top Questions What are nucleic acids?

Learn about Watson and Crick's double-helix DNA structure, composed of two intertwined chains of nucleotides resembling a spiral ladder
The animated structure of a DNA molecule. Deoxyribose sugar molecules and phosphate molecules form the outer edges of the DNA double helix, and base pairs bind the two strands to one another.
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DNA is a polymer of the four nucleotides A, C, G, and T, which are joined through a backbone of alternating phosphate and deoxyribose sugar residues. These nitrogen-containing bases occur in complementary pairs as determined by their ability to form hydrogen bonds between them. A always pairs with T through two hydrogen bonds, and G always pairs with C through three hydrogen bonds. The spans of A:T and G:C hydrogen-bonded pairs are nearly identical, allowing them to bridge the sugar-phosphate chains uniformly. This structure, along with the molecule’s chemical stability, makes DNA the ideal genetic material. The bonding between complementary bases also provides a mechanism for the replication of DNA and the transmission of genetic information.

DNA structure
DNA structure, showing the nucleotide bases cytosine (C), thymine (T), adenine (A), and guanine (G) linked to a backbone of alternating phosphate (P) and deoxyribose sugar (S) groups. Two sugar-phosphate chains are paired through hydrogen bonds between A and T and between G and C, thus forming the twin-stranded double helix of the DNA molecule.
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Chemical structure
In 1953 James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick proposed a three-dimensional structure for DNA based on low-resolution X-ray crystallographic data and on Erwin Chargaff’s observation that, in naturally occurring DNA, the amount of T equals the amount of A and the amount of G equals the amount of C. Watson and Crick, who shared a Nobel Prize in 1962 for their efforts, postulated that two strands of polynucleotides coil around each other, forming a double helix. The two strands, though identical, run in opposite directions as determined by the orientation of the 5′ to 3′ phosphodiester bond. The sugar-phosphate chains run along the outside of the helix, and the bases lie on the inside, where they are linked to complementary bases on the other strand through hydrogen bonds.

initial proposal of DNA structure
The initial proposal of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick, which was accompanied by a suggestion on the means of replication.
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The double helical structure of normal DNA takes a right-handed form called the B-helix. The helix makes one complete turn approximately every 10 base pairs. B-DNA has two principal grooves, a wide major groove and a narrow minor groove. Many proteins interact in the space of the major groove, where they make sequence-specific contacts with the bases. In addition, a few proteins are known to make contacts via the minor groove.
Several structural variants of DNA are known. In A-DNA, which forms under conditions of high salt concentration and minimal water, the base pairs are tilted and displaced toward the minor groove. Left-handed Z-DNA forms most readily in strands that contain sequences with alternating purines and pyrimidines. DNA can form triple helices when two strands containing runs of pyrimidines interact with a third strand containing a run of purines.
B-DNA is generally depicted as a smooth helix; however, specific sequences of bases can distort the otherwise regular structure. For example, short tracts of A residues interspersed with short sections of general sequence result in a bent DNA molecule. Inverted base sequences, on the other hand, produce cruciform structures with four-way junctions that are similar to recombination intermediates. Most of these alternative DNA structures have only been characterized in the laboratory, and their cellular significance is unknown.