Biological Science (6th Edition)

by Freeman, Scott; Quillin, Kim; Allison, Lizabeth; Black, Michael; Taylor, Emily; Podgorski, Greg; Carmichael Jeff

Published by Benjamin Cummings

ISBN 10: 0321976495

ISBN 13: 978-0-32197-649-9

Chapter 4 - Nucleic Acids and the RNA World - Review - Case Study - Page 106: 13

Answer

Water is polar, whereas nitrogenous bases are nonpolar, which would cause the latter to repel away from the former and form a helical structure.

Work Step by Step

The presence of water causes nonpolar bases of DNA to twist to prevent the interaction of hydrophobic bases with water molecules in the environment. This twisting of the nitrogenous bases further induces regular helical turns in the DNA, which was observed by Franklin.

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