Complementarity
Definition
The property by which each base pairs with only one specific partner (A with T, G with C). Complementarity allows a single strand to serve as a template for synthesising a new strand with a predictable sequence, and it underlies hybridisation assays in which a labelled probe anneals to a target sequence.
Related terms
- Antiparallel orientation
- The two strands of the DNA double helix run in opposite directions: one strand reads 5' to 3', its complement reads 3'...
- Base pair (bp)
- A complementary pairing of nitrogenous bases on opposite strands of double-stranded DNA: adenine with thymine (two hydrogen bonds) or guanine with cytosine...
- Denaturation
- The separation of double-stranded DNA into two single strands by disrupting the hydrogen bonds between base pairs. In PCR, denaturation is achieved...
- Nucleotide
- The monomer unit of nucleic acids. Each nucleotide consists of a five-carbon sugar (deoxyribose in DNA, ribose in RNA), a phosphate group,...
- Phosphodiester bond
- The covalent linkage between consecutive nucleotides in a strand, formed between the phosphate group and the 3'-OH of the preceding sugar and...
Explained in
- Nucleic Acids: Structure and FunctionThe property by which each base pairs with only one specific partner (A with T, G with C). Complementarity allows a single strand to serve as a template for sy...