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Complementarity (molecular biology)
In genetics, a double-stranded DNA or RNA strand consists of two complementary strands of base pairs, which are non-covalently connected via two or three hydrogen bonds.
Since there is only one complementary base for any of the bases found in DNA/RNA, one can reconstruct a complementary strand for any single strand. This is essential for DNA replication.
For example, the complementary strand of the DNA sequence
A G T C A T G
is
T C A G T A C
Compliment and complementation have several different meanings in Biology, see Complement for other uses.
See also
Last updated: 05-25-2005 03:41:09
10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details