base-pair breathing

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English

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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base-pair breathing (uncountable)

  1. (genetics) The transient, lateral opening of a base pair in a nucleic acid molecule as a result of thermal motion or the presence of a defect
    • 2013, Michael G. Simic, Mechanisms of DNA Damage and Repair: Implications for Carcinogenesis and Risk Assessment[1]:
      Intercalation is an energetically favourable process, and thus relates to the dynamic base-pair breathing properties of DNA itself.