Which is the most stable form of dna under normal physiological conditions?
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Answer:
The stability of the DNA double helix depends on a fine balance of interactions including hydrogen bonds between bases, hydrogen bonds between bases and surrounding water molecules, and base-stacking interactions between adjacent bases.
Slight variations in the DNA sequence can have profound implications on the stability of the DNA duplex. For example, mutations in the base sequence that result from errors that occur during DNA replication can result in mismatches that lead to relatively unstable duplexes. This instability is exploited by proofreading enzymes which recognize the mutation and replace it with the correct nucleotide (see Mutagenesis and DNA repair).
To gain an insight into DNA duplex stability, and how it is affected by changes in primary structure, scientists have studied the structure and thermodynamic stability of a variety of DNA duplexes by using a combination of physical methods including X-ray crystallography, ultraviolet (UV) melting and NMR.