Structure of DNA
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Legend:
Illustration of the double helical structure of the DNA molecule.
The structure of DNA is illustrated by a right handed double helix, with about 10 nucleotide pairs per helical turn. Each spiral strand, composed of a sugar phosphate backbone and attached bases, is connected to a complementary strand by hydrogen bonding (non- covalent) between paired bases, adenine (A) with thymine (T) and guanine (G) with cytosine ©.
Adenine and thymine are connected by two hydrogen bonds (non-covalent) while guanine and cytosine are connected by three.
This structure was first described by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953
