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How would nucleotide ratios compare if Levene's tetranucleotide theory was correct?​

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User Sbacarob
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Answer: If Levene's tetranucleotide theory was correct, we would expect to see that the ratios of the four nucleotides (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) would be roughly equal in DNA. This is because Levene's theory proposed that DNA was made up of repeating units of four nucleotides, with each unit containing one of each nucleotide.

However, we now know that Levene's theory is incorrect, and that the structure of DNA is actually a double helix made up of two complementary strands of nucleotides. This means that the ratios of nucleotides in DNA are not equal, but rather depend on the base-pairing rules that govern the structure of the double helix.

Specifically, in DNA, the ratio of adenine to thymine is always 1:1, and the ratio of guanine to cytosine is always 1:1. This is because adenine always pairs with thymine, and guanine always pairs with cytosine, through hydrogen bonds between their nitrogenous bases.

So, if Levene's tetranucleotide theory was correct, we would expect to see more variation in the ratios of nucleotides in DNA, with roughly equal amounts of each nucleotide. However, since the actual structure of DNA is a double helix with specific base-pairing rules, we see consistent ratios of nucleotides in DNA.

Step-by-step explanation:

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