Questions: Which components of the nucleotides found in DNA make up the "backbone" of the structure? SELECT ALL a) the nitrogenous bases b) the pentose sugars c) the phosphate groups

Which components of the nucleotides found in DNA make up the "backbone" of the structure? SELECT ALL
a) the nitrogenous bases
b) the pentose sugars
c) the phosphate groups

Transcript text: Which components of the nucleotides found in DNA make up the "backbone" of the structure? SELECT ALL a) the nitrogenous bases b) the pentose sugars c) the phosphate groups

Solution

The answer is: b) the pentose sugars and c) the phosphate groups.

Explanation:

a) The nitrogenous bases: Incorrect. The nitrogenous bases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine) are not part of the backbone. They are attached to the backbone and are involved in base pairing, which holds the two strands of DNA together.
b) The pentose sugars: Correct. The pentose sugars (deoxyribose in DNA) are part of the backbone. They alternate with phosphate groups to form the structural framework of the DNA strand.
c) The phosphate groups: Correct. The phosphate groups are part of the backbone. They link the pentose sugars together, forming a repeating sugar-phosphate pattern that constitutes the backbone of the DNA molecule.

In summary, the backbone of DNA is composed of alternating pentose sugars and phosphate groups.

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