A viral DNA is analyzed and found to have the following base composition, in mole percent: A= 32, G = 16, T = 40, C = 12. What can you immediately conclude about this DNA?
A should be matched with T, and G with C. Other possible pairing are GT and AC, but these are mismatches, are errors. I would conclude the DNA is unstable.
It's not necessarily unstable, it might just be a single strand of DNA.
To determine what you can immediately conclude about the viral DNA based on its base composition, you need to look for any patterns or abnormalities. The total percentage of all bases should add up to 100%.
In this case, the base composition is as follows: A = 32%, G = 16%, T = 40%, and C = 12%. Adding these percentages together, we find that they do add up to 100%. This suggests that the base composition is balanced and there is no abnormality in terms of missing or excess bases.
However, to draw a more specific conclusion about the DNA from this information alone, we need to consider additional factors such as the expected base composition for that specific organism or the presence of any known mutations or variations.