Why can you dissolve RNA in an alkaline solution such as NaOH but not DNA? I don't know the answer Any links to some place that would have?
I'm not totally certain, but...does it have anything to do with hydrogen bonding? Hydroxyl groups make RNA less stable than DNA...so it's harder to dissolve
Yeah...it sounds like a Biochemistry question, which I haven't taken yet. Just using what I know from lower-div sci classes to answer this question. I know that RNA & DNA are structurally different though...RNA is single-stranded and DNA is double-stranded. So, if you take that notion alone (without adding a strand of RNA to another one), you'd realize DNA was a stronger OH bond, thus harder to dissolve or for NaOH to ionize it.
chapter 12-slide 29 lecture from 11-21-08 go back to those notes-- i found the answer there youre on the right track, it has to do with the structure and how it is different from DNA
Because RNA has OH- group which is attacked by NaOH nucleaphilic. DNA does not have OH group so it is more stable thn RNA.
Just thought I'd point out RNA does exist as double-stranded, ie viral genomes or RNAi. DNA can be single-stranded, but that's usually only from artificial lab conditions. Probably not something you will learn in a basic bio course, but I figured I might as well pass some of my knowledge from getting a bachelors on I think this is correct. If you google something about the stability of RNA in alkaline conditions there is some more detailed info.
"RNA is highly susceptible to base-catalyzed hydrolysis. The base-induced deprotonation of the 2'-OH group facilitates its nucleophilic attack on the adjacent phosphorus atom, thereby cleaving the RNA backbone. The resulting 2',3'-cyclic phosphate group subsequently hydrolyzes to produce a 2'- or 3'-nucleotide product. DNA is not susceptible to such degradation because it lacks a 2'-OH group." I just reviewed this last week. Hope it helps.
