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Why arent nucleosides incorporated into DNA? In the DNA sequence 5'-AGCT-3', the phosphodiester linkage between the adenine and guanine connects what end of each? If the DNA of an organism contains 14% guanine, what percentage of thymine would you find?

User Rimian
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Final answer:

Nucleosides alone are not incorporated into DNA due to the absence of a phosphate group - nucleotides are the actual building blocks of DNA. Phosphodiester linkages in DNA connect the 5' end of one nucleotide to the 3' end of another. Complementary base pairing rules dictate that if an organism's DNA contains 14% guanine, it would have 36% thymine.

Step-by-step explanation:

Nucleosides are not incorporated into DNA because they are missing a critical component: the phosphate group. In DNA, nucleotides, which are composed of a nucleoside (a sugar and a base) plus a phosphate group, are the building blocks. Nucleotides are linked together through phosphodiester bonds between the 5' phosphate group of one nucleotide and the 3' hydroxyl group of the next nucleotide. In the DNA sequence 5'-AGCT-3', the phosphodiester linkage connects the 5' end of adenine to the 3' end of guanine.

Regarding the DNA content of an organism, if it contains 14% guanine, then due to complementary base pairing discovered by Chargaff, it would also contain 14% cytosine, because guanine and cytosine pair together. Similarly, it would contain 36% adenine to match the 36% thymine, since adenine and thymine are complementary to each other. So, if an organism's DNA contains 14% guanine, one would find 36% thymine in its DNA.

User Adrian Dunston
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