The Tm (melting temperature) of DNA
A) is unrelated to the base composition.
B) is a constant for all DNA samples.
C) is linearly related to the guanine + cytosine content.
D) is proportional to the uridine content.
E) None of the other answers is correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The melting temperature (Tm) of DNA is linearly related to the guanine + cytosine content because G-C base pair has three hydrogen bonds while A-T base pair has only two hydrogen bonds. Thus, a higher G-C content leads to a higher Tm due to the stronger hydrogen bonds between the base pairs.

The Tm (Melting Temperature) of DNA