Question

Approximately 16% of this alien genome is comprised of nucleotides containing C, and 22% is comprised of nucleotides containing Y. Given this information, calculate the percentage of the alien genome that is comprised of nucleotides containing G, T, A, and X. (a) _____% of the alien genome is comprised of G. (b) _____% of the alien genome is comprised of T. (c) _____% of the alien genome is comprised of A. (d) _____% of the alien genome is comprised of X.

Answer 1

Using Chargaff's Rule, 16% of the alien genome is comprised of G, and 22% is comprised of T. Percentages for A and X cannot be determined without additional information.

Step-by-step explanation:

Given that 16% of the alien genome is comprised of nucleotides containing C, and 22% is comprised of nucleotides containing Y, we can calculate the percentages of the remaining nucleotides by applying Chargaff's Rule, which states that DNA is a double helix that is held together by base pairs: A pairs with T, and G pairs with C. This means that the percentage of nucleotides containing G will be equal to that of C, and T will complement Y assuming that Y pairs with T in this alien genome, as A pairs with T in Earth organisms.

(a) Since 16% of the alien genome is comprised of C, then 16% of the alien genome is also comprised of G, as G pairs with C.

(b) If 22% is comprised of Y, and assuming Y pairs with T, then 22% of the alien genome is comprised of T.

(c) To find the percentage of A, we would need additional information since the question doesn't provide a direct pairing percentage. Given no other information, the percentage of A remains undetermined in this hypothetical situation.

(d) Without additional information about what X pairs with, we cannot accurately determine the percentage of X in the alien genome. If X pairs with an unknown or non-standard base or does not directly pair with one of the given nucleotides, we would not be able to apply Chargaff's Rule.

Answer 2

(a) 16 % of the alien genome is comprised of G.

(b) 17% of the alien genome is comprised of T.

(c) 17% of the alien genome is comprised of A.

(d) 22 % of the alien genome is comprised of X.

Step-by-step explanation:

Assuming the alien follows Chargaff's rules which states that DNA from any cell of any organisms should have a 1:1 ratio (base Pair Rule) of pyrimidine and purine bases.

So if:

16% contains C ; 16 % pairs with G = 32% C-G pairing.

22% contains Y ; 22 % pairs with X = 44% X-Y pairing.

44% G-C + 32% X-Y = 76%

100%-76% = 34% the remaining should be split between T and A which is 17% each one.