Abstract:
Nucleic acids have been shown to be central molecules in transmission, expression,
and conservation of genetic information. The classic experiments by Avery et al.[1]
and Hershey et al.[2] demonstrated the role of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a
carrier of genetic information. However, it was the elucidation of the DNA double
helix structure by Watson and Crick[3], based on the X-ray fiber diffraction patterns generated by Franklin et al.[4] and Wilkins et al.[5], along with the chemical
evidence of base complementarity proposed by Chargaff[6], that led to a molecular
understanding of these key processes. The discovery of the structure of DNA and
its relationship to key genetic processes had a tremendous impact on all subsequent biochemical investigations, defining the paradigm of modern biochemistry
and molecular biology. It also established the primary importance of molecular
structure for an understanding of the function of biological molecules and the need
to investigate the relationship between structure and function.
