An Introduction to Nucleic Acid
- Nucleic Acids Structure. These vital macromolecules are typically made of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, and most importantly, carbon.
- Pop Quiz 1. Which of these is a sugar group present in DNA?
- Nucleic Acids Types. ...
- DNA Nucleic Acid. ...
- Structure of DNA. ...
- Structure of RNA. ...
- Nucleic Acids Function. ...
- Molecular Biology. ...
- Biochemistry. ...
- Genetics. ...
What do nucleic acids do for the body?
These nucleic acids are involved in three basic processes in our body like replication, transcription, and translation. However, they do have other functions as well like Carrying hereditary information Making other nucleic acids and proteins Supporting cell division Control cell metabolism Stimulates apoptosis Design the proteins. Enzymatic action
What are some interesting facts about nucleic acids?
Some interesting facts about Nucleic acids: Nucleic acids code your genes, they are used in protein synthesis, repair, and reproduction. A nucleotide is a double helix made of two strands of polymers. If we did not have nucleotides we would get information to our cells and we wouldn’t be able to code our genes.
How do you identify nucleic acids?
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What are the 4 bases used in RNA?
- What does RNA stand for? Where does it get that name?
- What are the names of the four bases of which RNA is comprised?
- Which of these are purines; which are pyrimidines?
- Is RNA single stranded or double stranded?
What are nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are naturally occurring chemical compounds that serve as the primary information-carrying molecules in cells. They play an especially...
What is the basic structure of a nucleic acid?
Nucleic acids are long chainlike molecules composed of a series of nearly identical building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of...
What nitrogen-containing bases occur in nucleic acids?
Each nucleic acid contains four of five possible nitrogen-containing bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U). A...
When were nucleic acids discovered?
Nucleic acids were discovered in 1869 by Swiss biochemist Friedrich Miescher.
What are the building blocks of nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are long chainlike molecules composed of a series of nearly identical building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogen-containing aromatic base attached to a pentose (five-carbon) sugar, which is in turn attached to a phosphate group.
What are the two classes of nucleic acids?
They play an especially important role in directing protein synthesis. The two main classes of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) and ribonucleic acid ( RNA ).
How are nucleotides synthesized?
The ribose phosphate portion of both purine and pyrimidine nucleotides is synthesized from glucose via the pentose phosphate pathway. The six-atom pyrimidine ring is synthesized first and subsequently attached to the ribose phosphate. The two rings in purines are synthesized while attached to the ribose phosphate during the assembly of adenine or guanine nucleosides. In both cases the end product is a nucleotide carrying a phosphate attached to the 5′ carbon on the sugar. Finally, a specialized enzyme called a kinase adds two phosphate groups using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as the phosphate donor to form ribonucleoside triphosphate, the immediate precursor of RNA. For DNA, the 2′-hydroxyl group is removed from the ribonucleoside diphosphate to give deoxyribonucleoside diphosphate. An additional phosphate group from ATP is then added by another kinase to form a deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate, the immediate precursor of DNA.
What is the chemical compound that is capable of being broken down to yield phosphoric acid, sugars, and
Nucleic acid, naturally occurring chemical compound that is capable of being broken down to yield phosphoric acid, sugars, and a mixture of organic bases (purines and pyrimidines). Nucleic acids are the main information-carrying molecules of the cell, and, by directing the process of protein synthesis, they determine the inherited characteristics ...
What are the bases of nucleotides?
Each nucleic acid contains four of five possible nitrogen-containing base s: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U). A and G are categorized as purines, and C, T, and ...
What are the two rings in purines?
The two rings in purines are synthesized while attached to the ribose phosphate during the assembly of adenine or guanine nucleosides . In both cases the end product is a nucleotide carrying a phosphate attached to the 5′ carbon on the sugar.
What is the name of the bond between sugar and a base?
These nucleoside linkages are called phosphodiester bonds and are the same in RNA and DNA.
What are the components of a nucleic acid?
Each nucleotide consists of three components: a purine or pyrimidine nucleobase (sometimes termed nitrogenous base or simply base ), a pentose sugar, and a phosphate group which makes the molecule acidic.
Where are nucleic acids found?
Although first discovered within the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, nucleic acids are now known to be found in all life forms including within bacteria, archaea, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and viruses (There is debate as to whether viruses are living or non-living ).
What is the substructure of a nucleobase?
The substructure consisting of a nucleobase plus sugar is termed a nucleoside. Nucleic acid types differ in the structure of the sugar in their nucleotides–DNA contains 2'- deoxyribose while RNA contains ribose (where the only difference is the presence of a hydroxyl group ).
What is the role of nucleic acid sequence in protein synthesis?
The encoded information is contained and conveyed via the nucleic acid sequence, which provides the 'ladder-step' ordering of nucleotides within the molecules of RNA and DNA. They play an especially important role in directing protein synthesis.
How is the sequence of amino acids in a protein read?
The code is read by copying stretches of DNA into the related nucleic acid RNA in a process called transcription.
What are the two main classes of nucleic acids?
The two main classes of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). If the sugar is ribose, the polymer is RNA; if the sugar is the ribose derivative deoxyribose, the polymer is DNA. Nucleic acids are naturally occurring chemical compounds that serve as the primary information-carrying molecules in cells and makeup ...
How does DNA differ from RNA?
One DNA or RNA molecule differs from another primarily in the sequence of nucleotides. Nucleotide sequences are of great importance in biology since they carry the ultimate instructions that encode all biological molecules, molecular assemblies, subcellular and cellular structures, organs, and organisms, and directly enable cognition, memory, and behavior ( see Genetics ). Enormous efforts have gone into the development of experimental methods to determine the nucleotide sequence of biological DNA and RNA molecules, and today hundreds of millions of nucleotides are sequenced daily at genome centers and smaller laboratories worldwide. In addition to maintaining the GenBank nucleic acid sequence database, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) provides analysis and retrieval resources for the data in GenBank and other biological data made available through the NCBI web site.
Overview
Nucleic acids are biopolymers, macromolecules, essential to all known forms of life. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made of three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). If the sugar is ribose, the polymer is RNA; if the sugar is th…
History
• Nucleic acid was first discovered by Friedrich Miescher in 1869 at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He gave its first name as nuclein.
• In the early 1880s Albrecht Kossel further purified the substance and discovered its highly acidic properties. He later also identified the nucleobases.
Occurrence and nomenclature
The term nucleic acid is the overall name for DNA and RNA, members of a family of biopolymers, and is synonymous with polynucleotide. Nucleic acids were named for their initial discovery within the nucleus, and for the presence of phosphate groups (related to phosphoric acid). Although first discovered within the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, nucleic acids are now known to be found in all life forms including within bacteria, archaea, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and viruses (There is debate a…
Molecular composition and size
Nucleic acids are generally very large molecules. Indeed, DNA molecules are probably the largest individual molecules known. Well-studied biological nucleic acid molecules range in size from 21 nucleotides (small interfering RNA) to large chromosomes (human chromosome 1 is a single molecule that contains 247 million base pairs ).
In most cases, naturally occurring DNA molecules are double-stranded and RNA molecules are si…
Topology
Double-stranded nucleic acids are made up of complementary sequences, in which extensive Watson-Crick base pairing results in a highly repeated and quite uniform Nucleic acid double-helical three-dimensional structure. In contrast, single-stranded RNA and DNA molecules are not constrained to a regular double helix, and can adopt highly complex three-dimensional structures that are based on short stretches of intramolecular base-paired sequences including both Wats…
Sequences
One DNA or RNA molecule differs from another primarily in the sequence of nucleotides. Nucleotide sequences are of great importance in biology since they carry the ultimate instructions that encode all biological molecules, molecular assemblies, subcellular and cellular structures, organs, and organisms, and directly enable cognition, memory, and behavior. Enormous efforts have gone into the development of experimental methods to determine the nucleotide sequenc…
Types
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid containing the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. The DNA segments carrying this genetic information are called genes. Likewise, other DNA sequences have structural purposes or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information. Along with RNA and proteins, DNA is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life. DNA consi…
See also
• Comparison of nucleic acid simulation software
• History of biochemistry
• History of molecular biology
• History of RNA biology – Aspect of history of a biological field of study