Identify the correct options with respect to the salient features of DNA.

(A) The two polynucleotide chains are coiled in a left-handed fashion
(B) Adenine forms three hydrogen bonds with thymine
(C) The distance between a base pair in a DNA helix is approximately 0.34 nm
(D) The plane of one base pair stacks over the other in double helix

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(C), (D)

The correct answer is Option (3) → (C), (D)

The salient features of the Double-helix structure of DNA are as follows:

(i) It is made of two polynucleotide chains, where the backbone is constituted by sugar-phosphate, and the bases project inside.

(ii) The two chains have anti-parallel polarity. It means, if one chain has the polarity 5' → 3', the other has 3'→ 5'.

(iii) The bases in two strands are paired through hydrogen bond (H-bonds) forming base pairs (bp). Adenine forms two hydrogen bonds with Thymine from opposite strand and vice-versa. Similarly, Guanine is bonded with Cytosine with three H-bonds. As a result, always a purine comes opposite to a pyrimidine. This generates approximately uniform distance between the two strands of the helix .

(iv) The two chains are coiled in a right-handed fashion. The pitch of the helix is 3.4 nm (a nanometre is one billionth of a metre, that is 10-9 m) and there are roughly 10 bp in each turn. Consequently, the distance between a bp in a helix is approximately 0.34 nm.

(v) The plane of one base pair stacks over the other in double helix. This, in addition to H-bonds, confers stability of the helical structure.