Answer :
Final answer:
The phosphate group in a nucleotide is responsible for giving DNA its negative charge. This is due to the negative charge of phosphate ions in the DNA molecule. The other components, sugar and nitrogenous bases, do not contribute to the negative charge.
Explanation:
Understanding Nucleotide Structure
A nucleotide is the basic building block of DNA and consists of three main components: a phosphate group, a sugar, and a nitrogenous base. Among these components, it is the phosphate group that imparts a negative charge to the DNA molecule. This is due to the presence of phosphate ions, which are negatively charged due to the presence of oxygen atoms. Each nucleotide contains one phosphate group, and when linked together in a DNA strand, these phosphate groups create a backbone that contributes to the overall negative charge of the DNA molecule.
Role of the Other Components
The sugar component, which can be deoxyribose in DNA, is not charged and serves primarily as a structural element. The nitrogenous bases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine) are also not charged; instead, they are involved in base pairing and genetic coding. Therefore, the negative charge of DNA primarily originates from the phosphate groups that connect the sugar molecules in the DNA backbone.
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