What kind of bonds link nucleotides together

In an aqueous environment, like inside the cell, the phosphate groups are negatively charged, as drawn in the figure above. Although each nucleotide in DNA contains identical sugar and phosphate groups, there are four different bases and thus four different nucleotides that can be incorporated into DNA. The four bases are adenine , cytosine , guainne , and thymine , and their structures are shown below.

We often shorten this notation to A, C, G, and T. Note that two pairs of bases have similar structures. A and G both have two carbon-nitrogen rings and are known as purines.

In contrast, C and T have a single carbon-nitrogen ring and belong to a class of molecules called pyrimidines. Hydrogen-bond interactions between the bases allow two strands of DNA to form the double helix. How do covalent bonds differ from hydrogen bonds? How do covalent bonds share electrons? How does a polar covalent bond differ from an nonpolar? How does the formation of an ionic bond differ from that of a covalent bond? What covalent bond is the longest?

There are two hydrogen bonds between adenine A and thymine T and three between guanine G and cytosine C. However, this should not be confused with the fact that the polynucleotide strands sugar-phosphate backbones of the DNA are held by phosphodiester bonds covalent. What type of bond join the nucleotide in DNA? Jun 6, Do you want to LearnCast this session?

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