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What is the shape of the DNA called?

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What is the shape of the DNA called?

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It’s called a double helix which is sort of like a twisted ladder. Other forms exist aswell but this is the most common.

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Normally, the double helix is a right-handed spiral. DNA can be twisted like a rope in a process called DNA supercoiling. With DNA in its “relaxed” state, a strand usually circles the axis of the double helix once every 10.4 base pairs, but if the DNA is twisted the strands become more tightly or more loosely wound. If the DNA is twisted in the direction of the helix, this is positive supercoiling, and the bases are held more tightly together. If they are twisted in the opposite direction, this is negative supercoiling, and the bases come apart more easily. In nature, most DNA has slight negative supercoiling that is introduced by enzymes called topoisomerases. These enzymes are also needed to relieve the twisting stresses introduced into DNA strands during processes such as transcription and DNA replication.

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DNA is shaped in a double helix normally, however it can exist in other forms.

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