KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CHEMISTRY

SEMESTER TWO, YEAR ONE

ASSIGNMENT (GROUP)

COURSE UNIT: SST 1203: INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY

LECTURER NAME: MR. WACOO PAUL

NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS

NAMES REGISTRATION SIGNATURE

NUMBER
ODONGO TONNY 18/U/CTD/269/GV
TURYAHEBWA DIDAS 18/U/CTD/274/GV
NALUMANSI BRIDGET MARIA 18/U/CTD/15361/PD
KWIZERA IAN 18/U/CTD/275/GV
KIMULI LILLIAN 18/U/CTD/8086/PD
NAMUGABO ANIISHA 18/U/CTD/268/GV

Task; Nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, their structures, functions, importance, differences and
similarities

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NUCLEIC ACIDS
They are biological macromolecules (polymers) made up of many smaller molecules
(monomers) called nucleotides. The nucleotides are composed of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
carbon and phosphorus atoms. Nucleic acids are the genetic material of all organisms, and they
determine many of the features of an organism. There are two types of nucleic acids: DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid). Both are made of long chains of subunits
called nucleotides.

DNA carries the 'instructions' required to assemble proteins from amino acids subunits using a
generic code. It is accurately passed from cell to cell during cell division. RNA plays a major
role in the manufacture of proteins within cells.

Molecular structure of nucleic acids

Nucleic acids are made up of building units which are the nucleotides that bind together
by covalent bonds to form the polynucleotide ( the nucleic acid ).

The nucleotide
The nucleotide is the basic building unit of the nucleic acid, it consists of three units which are
a pentose sugar molecule, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base, A pentose sugar molecule
contains five carbon atoms, A phosphate group is connected to the carbon atom 5’ of the sugar
molecule.

Pentose sugar
The pentose sugar in RNA is ribose and deoxyribose in DNA. The difference between the
sugars is the presence of the hydroxyl group on the second carbon of the ribose and hydrogen

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on the 2nd carbon of the deoxyribose. The carbon atoms of the sugar molecule are numbered as
1’,2’,3’,4’5’

Phosphate group
The phosphate group is attached to the hydroxyl of 5’ carbon of the sugar and the hydroxyl of
3’ carbon of the sugar of the next nucleotides which forms a 5’3’phosphodiester linkage. Its
formation involves the removal of two phosphate groups. A polynucleotide may have
thousands of such phosphodiester linkages.

Nitrogenous base
Nitrogenous bases are organic molecules because they contain carbon and nitrogen. They are
also called bases because they contain an amino group that has the potential of binding an extra
hydrogen therefore decreasing the hydrogen ions concentration and making it more basic.
A nitrogenous base is connected to the carbon atom 1’ of the sugar molecule, there are two
types of nitrogenous bases purine and pyrimidines.

Purines
Purines are made of double ring structure consisting of carbon and nitrogen with different
functional group attached to the ring. Organic bases under purines are adenine(A) and
guanine(G)

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Pyrimidines
Pyrimidines are made of single ring structure consisting of carbon and nitrogen with different
functional group attached to the ring. Organic bases under Pyrimidines are Uracil (U), Cytosine
(C) and Thymine (T). Uracil is found in RNA only instead of thymine in DNA, Nucleic acids
differ according to the difference of the type of sugar and nitrogenous bases forming them.

Formation of nucleic acids

The process of formation of nucleic acids is by condensation reaction involving the removal of
water molecule. It begins when pentose sugar unites with a phosphoric acid molecule and
organic base to form a nucleotide. The phosphoric acid combines with the pentose sugar using
phosphodiester linkages which result in loss of two phosphate groups. Two water molecules
are removed in the process. Nucleotides joined through their phosphate groups to form a
dinucleotide. The addition of further nucleotide produces a long polynucleotide chain which is
the basis of nucleic acid molecule.

The purine or pyrimidine base is connected to the (deoxy)ribose via an N-glyosidic bond

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between the N1 of the pyrimidine, or N9 of the purine, and C1 of the sugar. Note that the sugar
is the anomer at C1 (the bond points "up" relative to the sugar ring) and the base is "above" the
sugar ring in the nucleoside.

Formation of nucleoside

Formation of nucleic acid

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Classification of Nucleic acids
There are two types of nucleic acids, which are Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), Ribonucleic
acid (RNA).

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

DNA is nucleic acid containing the genetic instructions used in the development and function
of all living organism. The DNA segment carrying this genetic information are called genes. It
is found inside the nucleus of the cell where it is involved in the structure of chromosomes.

DNA has a double-helix structure, with sugar and phosphate on the outside of the helix,
forming the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA. The nitrogenous bases are stacked in the
interior in pairs, like the steps of a staircase; the pairs are bound to each other by hydrogen
bonds. The two strands of the helix run in opposite directions. This antiparallel orientation is
important to DNA replication and in many nucleic acid interactions.

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The type of pentose sugar in the nucleotide is Deoxyribose sugar (which lacks an oxygen atom
than ribose sugar), Nitrogenous bases are Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Thymine (T) and
Cytosine (C)

DNA structure

The structure of DNA is understood in terms of three levels of structure:

1. Primary structure

The primary structure of a nucleic acid refers to the sequence of its nucleotide residues.

2. Secondary structure

In DNA, secondary structure pertains to the helix formed by the interaction of two DNA strand.

In the most commonly found form of DNA, two single strands lie side by side in an antiparallel
arrangement, with one running 5’ to 3’ and the other running 3’ to 5’.

The two DNA strands are held to one another by base pairing, hydrogen bonding between the
bases attached to the sugar phosphate backbone.

This base pairing is complementary. Adenine forms hydrogen bonds with Thymine and
Guanine forms hydrogen bonds with Cytosine.

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3. Tertiary Structure
For nucleic acids, tertiary structure refers to the overall three-dimensional shape.
In DNA, tertiary structure arises from supercoiling, which involves double helices being
twisted into tighter, more compact shapes.
Example: Plasmid DNA from Bacteria

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Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) importance
 It carries the genetic information passing from a generation to another when the cells
divide and this information are responsible for appearing the distinctive characteristics
of the living organisms and organizing all vital activities of the cells.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

RNA is a single-stranded nucleic acid polymer of the four nucleotides A, C, G, and U joined
through a backbone of alternating phosphate and ribose sugar residues. It is the first
intermediate in converting the information from DNA into proteins essential for the working
of a cell. Some RNAs also serve direct roles in cellular metabolism. RNA is made by copying
the base sequence of a section of double-stranded DNA, called a gene, into a piece of single-
stranded nucleic Structure of RNA acid. This process, called transcription. is catalyzed by an
enzyme called RNA polymerase.
The type of pentose sugar in the nucleotide is Ribose sugar, Nitrogenous bases are Adenine
(A), Guanine (G), Uracil (U) and Cytosine (C), Number of strands in each molecule is single
strand of nucleotides, it is transcribed (formed) from the nucleic acid DNA inside the cell
nucleus then transferred into the cytoplasm surrounding the nucleus.
RNA differs from DNA in three aspects. First, the backbone of RNA contains ribose rather
than 2’-deoxyribose. That is, ribose has a hydroxyl group at the 2’-position. Second, RNA
contains uracil in place of thymine. Uracil has the same single-ringed structure as thymine,
except that it lacks the 5’-methyl group. Thymine is in effect 5’-methyl-uracil. Third, RNA is
usually found as a single polynucleotide chain. Except for the case of certain viruses, RNA is
not the genetic material and does not need to be capable of serving as a template for its own
replication.

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 Structure of the basic elements of RNA

Common Forms of RNA

Messenger RNA (mRNA)
Messenger RNA (mRNA) delivers the information encoded in one or more genes from the
DNA to the ribosome, a specialized structure, or organelle, where that information is decoded
into a protein. In prokaryotes, mRNAs contain an exact transcribed copy of the original DNA
sequence with a terminal 5′-triphosphate group and a 3′-hydroxyl residue. In eukaryotes the
mRNA molecules are more elaborate. The 5′-triphosphate residue is further esterified, forming
a structure called a cap. At the 3′ ends, eukaryotic mRNAs typically contain long runs of
adenosine residues that are not encoded in the DNA but are added enzymatically after
transcription. Eukaryotic mRNA molecules are usually composed of small segments of the
original gene and are generated by a process of cleavage and rejoining from an original
precursor RNA (pre-mRNA) molecule, which is an exact copy of the gene.

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules are the structural components of the ribosome. The rRNAs
form extensive secondary structures and play an active role in recognizing conserved portions
of mRNAs and tRNAs. They also assist with the catalysis of protein synthesis. In the
prokaryote E. coli, seven copies of the rRNA genes synthesize about 15,000 ribosomes per cell.
In eukaryotes the numbers are much larger. Anywhere from 50 to 5,000 sets of rRNA genes
and as many as 10 million ribosomes may be present in a single cell. In eukaryotes these rRNA
genes are looped out of the main chromosomal fibers and coalesce in the presence of proteins
to form an organelle called the nucleolus. The nucleolus is where the rRNA genes are
transcribed and the early assembly of ribosomes takes place.

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Transfer RNA (tRNA)
Transfer RNA (tRNA) carries individual amino acids into the ribosome for assembly into the
growing polypeptide chain. The tRNA molecules contain 70 to 80 nucleotides and fold into a
characteristic cloverleaf structure. Specialized tRNAs exist for each of the 20 amino acids
needed for protein synthesis, and in many cases more than one tRNA for each amino acid is
present. The nucleotide sequence is converted into a protein sequence by translating each three-
base sequence (called a codon) with a specific protein. The 61 codons used to code amino acids
can be read by many fewer than 61 distinct tRNAs. In E. coli a total of 40 different tRNAs are
used to translate the 61 codons. The amino acids are loaded onto the tRNAs by specialized
enzymes called aminoacyl tRNA synthetases, usually with one synthetase for each amino acid.
However, in some organisms, less than the full complement of 20 synthetases are required
because some amino acids, such as glutamine and asparagine, can be synthesized on their
respective tRNAs. All tRNAs adopt similar structures because they all have to interact with the
same sites on the ribosome.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) importance

 Building ( synthesizing ) proteins which the cell needs, These proteins are responsible
for appearing the genetic traits and organizing the vital activities

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Differences between DNA and RNA

N. DNA RNA

1. DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic RNA stands for Ribonucleic Acid. The sugar
Acid. The sugar portion of DNA is 2- portion of RNA is Ribose.
Deoxyribose.

3. DNA is a double-stranded molecule RNA usually is a single-strand helix consisting of

consisting of a long chain of
nucleotides.
4. The bases present in DNA are
adenine, guanine, cytosine and
thymine.
5. DNA is self-replicating.
6. Base Pairing: AT (adenine-thymine)
GC (guanine-cytosine).
shorter chains of nucleotides.
The bases present in RNA are adenine, guanine,
cytosine and uracil.
RNA is synthesized from DNA on an as-needed
basis.
Base Pairing: AU (adenine-uracil) GC (guanine-
cytosine).

7. Purine and Pyrimidine bases are There is no proportionality in between the number
equal in number. of Purine and Pyrimidine bases.
8. DNA is susceptible to UV damage. Compared with DNA, RNA is relatively resistant to
UV damage.
9. Hydrogen bonds are formed between Base pairing through hydrogen bonds, occurs in the
complementary nitrogen bases of the coiled parts.
opposite strands (A-T, C-G).
10. DNA is found in the nucleus of a cell Depending on the type of RNA, this molecule is
and in mitochondria. found in a cell’s nucleus, its cytoplasm, and its
ribosome.
11. DNA can’t leave the nucleus. RNA leaves the nucleus (mRNA).

12. Due to its deoxyribose sugar, which RNA, containing a ribose sugar, is more reactive
contains one less oxygen-containing than DNA and is not stable in alkaline conditions.
hydroxyl group, DNA is a more RNA’s larger helical grooves mean it is more easily
stable molecule than RNA, which is subject to attack by enzymes.
useful for a molecule which has the
task of keeping genetic information
safe.

13. Renaturation after melting is slow. It is quite fast.

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 14. DNA is only two types: intra nuclear Three different types of RNA: m-RNA, t-RNA and
and extra nuclear. r-RNA.

15. Its quantity is fixed for cell.
16. It is long lived.
17. Functions: Long-term storage of
genetic information; transmission of
genetic information to make other
cells and new organisms.
The quantity of RNA of a cell is variable.
Some RNAs are very short lived while others have
somewhat longer life.
Functions: Used to transfer the genetic code from
the nucleus to the ribosomes to make proteins.
RNA is used to transmit genetic information in
some organisms and may have been the molecule
used to store genetic blueprints in primitive
organisms.

Similarities:
 DNA and RNA are made up of monomers called nucleotides.
 DNA and RNA both contain pentose sugars.
 DNA and RNA both have 3 nitrogenous bases: Adenine, Cytosine and
Guanine.
 DNA and RNA both have a phosphate groups in their nucleotides. Sometimes
called phosphoric acid.
 They both have the base pair of Guanine and Cytosine.
 They are both necessary for the cell to produce proteins.
 DNA makes mRNA which then is translated into protein.

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References
1. Allan, R. (2010). Senior biology (9th ed.).
2. Savada, D. E. (2014). life: the science of biology (10th ed.).
3. Jain J.L (2003) fundamentals of biochemistry (5th ed)
4. Edward Staunton W. (1974) Text Book of biochemistry (4th ed).
5. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-similarities-differences-between-dna-
rna-65255
6. www.chem4kids.com/files/bio_nucleicacids.html
7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nucleic-acids

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