Question

DNA can be crosslinked, which forms covalent bonds between the two strands. Describe one reason this is deleterious to a cell.

Answer 1

Answer:

Crosslinking: Crosslinking is the process of chemically joining two or more molecules by a covalent bonds. Crosslinking of DNA happens when exogenous or endogenous molecules react with two nucleotides of DNA and forming covalent bonds between the two strands.

It is deleterious to a cell due to the following reason:

• leads to genomic instability and cell death (crosslinkers bind irreversibly to DNA and thereby interfere with the replication process, which results in gene loss)