Watson-Crick model

Wat·son-Crick model

(wät′sən-krĭk′)

A three-dimensional model of the DNA molecule, consisting of two complementary polynucleotide strands wound in the form of a double helix and joined in a ladderlike fashion by hydrogen bonds between the purine and pyrimidine bases.

[After James Dewey Watson and Francis Henry Compton Crick.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

References in periodicals archive ?

They begin by describing DNA structures, including the Watson-Crick model as well as the B, A, and Z forms and their role in DNA flexibility.

DNA Topology, 2d ed

Chapter 3 starts with an explanation of the structure and makeup of chromosomes, including base-pairing and the Watson-Crick model. Meiosis and mitosis are covered in more detail than in most introductory plant breeding texts, including photomicrographs.