How Many Base Pairs are in DNA

How Many Base Pairs are in DNA

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Jun 20, 2023 10:50 AM IST

Introduction

There are 8 base pairs in DNA. Usually, it was 4, but scientists have expanded it to 8. Four as natural, and four as artificial. DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. It is composed of the phosphate group, ribose sugar, and a Nitrogen base (4 base pairs, known as ATGC - (Adenne, Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine). It is altogether called a Nucleotide. The length of a DNA is measured, in terms of bp or base pairs. A Haploid Human Genome comprises 3.2 Billion bases, containing twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand, protein-coding genes.

Main Content

There are four bases in a DNA, where, A, T, G, and C, stand for Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine, respectively. A base pair can also imply the exact number of base pairs like 8 Base Pairs, in a sequence of Nucleotides.

A DNA Nucleotide is composed of a molecule of phosphoric acid, a molecule of sugar, and a molecule known as a Base. These bases are the letters that spell out the Genetic Code. In DNA, the code letters are A, G, T, and C, and these are the chemicals. In Base Pairing, Guanine pairs with Cytosine always, and Adenine pairs with Thymine always.

Conclusion

DNA is made up of 2 connected strands that bind around each other, to make a twisted ladder. It forms a shape known as Double Helix. The bases develop chemical bonds, and aid to bind two DNA strands together. A (Adenine), T (Thymine), C (Cytosine), and G (Guanine) are the bases also known as Nucleotides. These bases develop particular pairs (G with C, and A with T). The binding between these strands forms a DNA.

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