A HYBRID HELIX CONTAINING BOTH DEOXYRIBOSE AND RIBOSE POLYNUCLEOTIDES AND ITS RELATION TO THE TRANSFER OF INFORMATION BETWEEN THE NUCLEIC ACIDS

Abstract

In this paper we have presented evidence which shows that it is possible to have a hybrid helix in which one strand with a DNA backbone can be made to wrap around another strand with an RNA backbone in such a manner that the strands are held together by complementary hydrogen bonds formed between the purine and pyrimidine residues. This finding may have relevance in the process whereby the genetic information or nucleotide sequence in DNA is transferred to an RNA molecule and suggests experiments which should be carried out to search for the existence of such transfer mechanisms in intact cellular systems.