Three Base Pairs
This tutorial was created by Steve Minchin, in the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham UK, using Jmol: an open-source Java viewer for chemical structures in 3D. www.jmol.org/You should be able to see the molecule on the right. To manipulate the model press and hold the left hand mouse button and drag to obtain the desired view. To zoom in or out, drag the mouse while pressing the shift key. To alter the presentation of the image or stop the rotation click with the right hand mouse button and select one of the options.
The three base pairs are shown in wireframe form to highlight the bonds. The hydrogen bonds between the bases are shown as black broken lines. You should be able to see that each base pair is related by 36 degrees.
To highlight different parts of the base pairs click one of the following options.
To highlight the atoms that face into the Major (blue) and Minor (pink) grooves click this button:
To show each base pair in a different colour with bonds and van der Waals radii visible click this button:
More Tutorials
- To view a TA base pair click here.
- To view a GC base pair click here.
- To view tutorial on the DNA double helix click here
- More Tutorials & Animations