The specific association between two complementary strands of nucleic acidsthat results from the formation of hydrogen bonds between the base components of the nucleotides of each strand: A=T and G
C in DNA, A=U and GC (and in some cases GU) in RNA (the lines indicate the number of hydrogen bonds). Single-stranded nucleic acid molecules can adopt a partially double-stranded structure through intrastrand base pairing. See also nucleosides.
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