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A/T Skew

guy_zinman
in Biology

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I have a marine bacteria with a big skew towards A/T (70%).

 

Maybe someone has an idea why such a skey could be evolved.

 

(And assume that it is not because of the different number of nitrogen molecules needed in each type of connections).

 

Thank you very much.

The most obvious answer is that the marine bacteria lives somewhere cold, higher AT percentages are normally in things that live in cold envirnments. A and T bind with two H-bonds, whereas as G and C bind with three, so it require more energy to break the GC's apart. This makes it easier to transcribe or replicate DNA with a higher proportion of AT. Organisms that live in hotter places tend to have higher GC percentages because it makes the DNA more stable.

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