CH 600

Nucleic Acids Problem Set

1. Give the name of the base, the ribonucleoside or deoxyribonucleoside, and the ribonucleoside
triphosphate for A, G, C, T, and U.
2. Give the sequence on the opposite strand for ACGTAT, AGATCT, and ATGGTA (all read 5' l 3').
3. (a) Is it biologically advantageous that DNA is stable? Why or why not? (b) Is it biologically
advantageous that RNA is unstable? Why or why not?
4. What is the difference between B-DNA and Z-DNA? In what naturally occurring nucleic acids would
you expect to find A-form helices, B-form helices, Z-form helices, nucleosomes, and circular DNA?
5. Define supercoiling, positive supercoil, topoisomerase, and negative supercoil. If circular B-DNA is
positively supercoiled, will these supercoils left- or right-handed? Briefly describe the structure of
chromatin.
6. What is the complete base composition of a double- stranded eukaryotic DNA that contains 22%
guanine?
7. Why does DNA with a high A/T content haven a lower transition temperature, Tm, than DNA with a
high G/Ccontent?
8. Would you expect mRNA or rRNA to be degraded more quickly in the cell? Why?
9. What is the purpose of small nuclear RNA? What is an snRNP?
10. What is RNA interference?
11. Which type of RNA is the biggest? Which is the smallest? Which type of RNA has the least amount of
secondary structure?
12. Why does the absorbance increase when a DNA sample unwinds?
13. Would you expect tRNA or mRNA to be more extensively hydrogen bonded? Why?
14. Explain briefly what happens to eukaryotic mRNA before it can be translated to protein.
15. Explain why a 50S ribosomal subunit and a 30S ribosomal subunit combine to form a 70S subunit,
instead of an 80S