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Variants of Double Helix DNA

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Estimated time: 5 minutes
CISCE: Class 12

Key Points: Variants of Double Helix DNA

Feature A-DNA (Alternate) B-DNA (Balanced) C-DNA (Complementary) D-DNA (Double helix) Z-DNA (Zig-zag)
Helix Handedness Right-handed Right-handed Right-handed Right-handed Left-handed
Base Pairs per Turn 11 10 (approx. 10.4) 9.33 8 12 (6 dimers)
Distance Between bp 2.5 Å 3.4 Å 3.3 Å 3.03 Å 3.8 Å
Helix Diameter 26 Å (widest) 20 Å 19 Å 19 Å 18 Å (thinnest)
Helix Length 28 Å 34 Å 31 Å 24 Å 46 Å
Stability Unstable Stable and active Unstable Unstable Unstable
Key Characteristics Occurs under dehydration; wider and shorter than B-DNA. Classic Watson-Crick form; most common under physiologic conditions. Observed under specific dehydration conditions (e.g., in the presence of lithium ions). Extremely rare variant; devoid of the guanine base. Discovered by Wang & Rich (1979); zig-zag backbone with alternating sugar orientation; occurs mainly in alternating pyrimidine/purine sequences.
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