Final answer:
The viral DNA's base composition that does not follow Chargaff's rule of A=T and G=C suggests it may be single-stranded or have an atypical double-stranded structure.
Step-by-step explanation:
Analyzed viral DNA has a base composition of A=32, G=16, T=40, C=12 in mole percent. Immediately, one can conclude that the DNA does not follow the standard base pairing rule discovered by Chargaff, which states that adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T), and guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C), and thus, in a double-stranded DNA molecule, the percentage of A equals T and the percentage of G equals C. However, in this case, the percentages do not match up as A (32%) does not equal T (40%), and G (16%) does not equal C (12%). This leads to the conclusion that the viral DNA is likely to be single-stranded, or if it is indeed double-stranded, it does not conform to the typical base pairing rules observed in human DNA, which may indicate a unique feature of the virus's genetic makeup.