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Why do nucleic acids have 3′5′ phosphodiester bonds?

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Abstract

Details of the stereochemistry of the 2′5′ and 3′5′ dinucleoside monophosphates of polynueleotides have been delineated in aqueous solution using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Incorporation of these experimentally determined geometries into the structure of polynueleotides reveals that the intrinsic spatial configurations of the 2′5′ bonds cannot support helical structures whereas the geometries of 3′5′ bonds allow the formation of helical configurations for RNA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomolecular Stereodynamics, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York, 12222

    M. M. Dhingra & Ramaswamy H. Sarma

  2. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay, 400005, India

    M. M. Dhingra

Authors
  1. M. M. Dhingra
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  2. Ramaswamy H. Sarma
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Dhingra, M., Sarma, R. Why do nucleic acids have 3′5′ phosphodiester bonds?. Nature 272, 798–801 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/272798a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/272798a0

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