Supercoiling Flashcards
1
Q
What is supercoiling
A
It is an important topological property of covalently closed circular double-stranded DNA. The circular DNA has a twisted appearance. Bacteria and some viruses also have a circular genome.
2
Q
What is an important feature of circular duplex DNA
A
The number of times one strand wraps about the other cannot be altered without first cleaving at least one of its polynucleotide strands.
3
Q
How is this important feature expressed
A
L=T+W : L
