The backbone of a single strand of DNA consists of
- A. alternating bases and phosphate groups
- B. bases only, stacked one above another
- C. alternating deoxyribose sugars and phosphate groups
- D. alternating sugars and bases
Explanation
Phosphodiester bonds link the sugar of one nucleotide to the phosphate of the next, making a repeating sugar phosphate rail with the bases hanging off it as side groups. The bases face inward to pair with the opposite strand rather than forming the backbone.
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