complementary

Introduction

The sequence of bases that hybridizes to a single-stranded DNA or RNA molecule, i.e.

G ... C
A ... T or U

For example:

  5' ... ATTAGGC ... 3' is complementary to
  3' ... TAATCCG ... 5'

  5' ... ATTAGGC ... 3' is complementary to
  3' ... TAATCCG ... 5'

More general terms

• biochemistry