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. 1978 Apr 27;272(5656):798-801.
doi: 10.1038/272798a0.

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

M M Dhingra, R H Sarma

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

M M Dhingra et al. Nature. .

Abstract

Details of the stereochemistry of the 2'5' and 3'5' dinucleoside monophosphates of polynucleotides have been delineated in aqueous solution using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Incorporation of these experimentally determined geometries into the structure of polynucleotides 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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