Explain what might occur when purine or pyrimidine bases in nucleotides undergo tautomeric shifts. What will be an ideal response?


ANSWER: Tautomeric shifts, small atomic changes within purine or pyrimidine base molecules, change
the hydrogen bonding properties of bases and allow bonding with noncomplementary bases
that can lead to permanent base changes in sequence following replication. Many DNA
mutations that begin as tautomeric shifts can also be induced by external agents.

Biology & Microbiology

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