Effect of high or low pH on DNA?

Answer 1

The human body has a slightly acid pH of 7.35-7.45. If the pH drops, the condition is called acidosis. The pH of the human body will never reach the neutral (7.00) before the condition becomes fatal. If the pH of the human body raises, the condition is called alkalinosis. This condition is also fatal. The human body has a slightly acid pH of 7.35-7.45. If the pH drops, the condition is called acidosis. The pH of the human body will never reach the neutral (7.00) before the condition becomes fatal. If the pH of the human body raises, the condition is called alkalinosis. This condition is also fatal.

Answer 2

t a very high pH, the DNA will denature and run as ssDNA.

This is a commonly employed technique called alkaline gel electrophoresis, and it is used to either assess how damaged a DNA sample is or to help determine the nature of a DNA structure, usually as the second step during two-dimensional

gel electrophoresis.

A low pH depurinates

DNA, which does melt the double helix, but also removes ~50% of the information from the strands. At very low pH, the phosophodiester

backbone of DNA hydrolyzes, further reducing the DNA to nucleotides and nucleosides.

Therefore, acidic electrophoresis would never be performed. (Besides that, very low pH would also hydrolyze the bonds in the other carbohydrate in this procedure -- agarose.)

Answer 3

High or low pH can cause DNA to denature, leading to the disruption of hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs and the unraveling of the double helix structure. This can result in the loss of genetic information and function of the DNA molecule. Extreme pH levels can also damage the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA, leading to fragmentation and degradation of the molecule.