Pyrimidine composition action

DNA exhibits rather different properties from RNA in its susceptibility to acid and alkaline hydrolysis. The extreme acid lability of the iV-gly-cosy 1-purine linkages in DNA allows the quantitative liberation of free purines by very mild acid treatment, leaving a high molecular weight residue (called apurinic acid or thymic acid) complete in pyrimidine, deoxy-ribose, and phosphate composition 169), DNA, however, is quite stable to alkaline action since the absence of a hydroxyl group on carbon 2 of deoxy-ribose precludes the possibility of labilization through a cyclic 2, 3 -phos-phate intermediate. 

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