Question

Which of the following is not a characteristic of RNA?

(a) It has ribose sugar molecules in the nucleotides

(b) It is a single stranded molecule

(c) It is not stable under alkaline conditions

(d) All the 3 types of RNA are involved in protein synthesis

I got this question in an international level competition.

This intriguing question originated from Properties of Genetic Material (DNA versus RNA) in section Molecular Basis of Inheritance of Biology – Class 12

Answer 1

The correct answer is (c) It is not stable under alkaline conditions

To elaborate: The hydrogen atom which is attached to the hydroxyl group on the 2’- C atom of the RNA can be easily deprotonated. The presence of larger grooves in RNA is also a reason for it not being stable under alkaline conditions. But under the same condition, the DNA molecule will be stable for it has smaller grooves which cannot be easily attacked or penetrated.