Watson–Crick base pairing

Watson–Crick base pairing is the complementary pairing of adenine with thymine in DNA or uracil in RNA, and guanine with cytosine. The pairs have matching geometry that supports reliable copying and stable nucleic-acid structures.

Adenine–thymine base pair: The canonical DNA base pair formed by adenine and thymine through two hydrogen bonds. It is one of the two complementary pairs that define Watson–Crick pairing in DNA.
Nucleobase: A nitrogen-containing molecule that forms the base component of nucleotides in DNA and RNA. Watson–Crick pairing is defined by interactions between nucleobases.
James Watson: An American molecular biologist who, with Francis Crick, proposed a double-helical model of DNA in 1953. His collaboration with Crick established the model that gave canonical pairing its name.
Genetic code: The rules by which nucleotide triplets in messenger RNA specify amino acids or translation signals. Base pairing helps preserve the nucleotide sequences that the code is read from.
Guanine–cytosine base pair: The canonical DNA and RNA base pair formed by guanine and cytosine through three hydrogen bonds. Its three hydrogen bonds illustrate the second canonical pairing geometry.
Nucleotide: A molecule composed of a nucleobase, a sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. Nucleotides place paired bases within the sugar-phosphate strands of nucleic acids.
Francis Crick: A British molecular biologist who helped develop the DNA double-helix model and explain genetic information flow. His structural reasoning helped connect complementary pairs to DNA's double helix.
Mutation: A heritable change in the nucleotide sequence of genetic material. Incorrect or altered pairing can contribute to sequence changes during DNA copying.
Hydrogen bond: An attractive interaction involving a hydrogen atom bonded to an electronegative atom and another electronegative atom. Hydrogen bonds help stabilize the specific orientations of paired bases.
Purine: A class of nucleobases with a fused two-ring structure, including adenine and guanine. Both canonical purines pair with one-ring pyrimidines to maintain consistent width.

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