Question

What will happen when the 2 complementary strands of the DNA are heated up and brought together?

(a) They will repel each due to the charges formed

(b) They will attract each other due to the charges formed

(c) They will become non-complementary to each other

(d) They will combine with each other under appropriate conditions

I had been asked this question in a national level competition.

This question is from Properties of Genetic Material (DNA versus RNA) topic in portion Molecular Basis of Inheritance of Biology – Class 12

Answer 1

The correct answer is (d) They will combine with each other under appropriate conditions

For explanation I would say: From the Griffith’s experiment related to the transforming principle, we could understand that the genetic material still possessed some stability. Likewise, the genetic material DNA which is present in this case also has the capability to join the 2 complementary strands despite it being heated up under appropriate conditions.