NUCLEIC ACID f.

BASES
 Purine (2)
a. Chromosomes i. Contains two-fused nitrogen-containing
 Structure in the cell nucleus thought to be the ring
carrier of genetic information 1. Adenine (A)
b. Genes 2. Guanine (G)
 Portion of a chromosome that controlled a  Pyrimidine (3)
specific inheritable trait i. Has one nitrogen-containing ring
1. Cytosine (C)
Composition of nucleic acids
2. Thymine (T) (in DNA)
a. Nucleic Acids 3. Uracil (U) (in RNA)
 Polymers g. Sugar + Base = NUCLEOSIDE
 Polynucleotides  Sugar and the base are connected by a bond
b. Nucleotides between one of the nitrogen atoms in a ring
 A three-subunit molecule in which a pentose and the sugar’s anomeric carbon atom (the
sugar is bonded to both a phosphate group one bonded to two O atoms)
and a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic base  B-N-glycosidic acid – the bond connecting the
c. Part of nucleotide sugar and the base
 five-membered ring monosaccharides
Nucleosides are named as derivatives of the base that
(Pentose Sugar)
they contain; the base’s name is modified using a
 A nitrogen-containing cyclic compound
suffix.
(Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic bases)
 A phosphate groups 1) For pyrimidine bases, the suffix -idine is used
d. Types of Nucleic Acids (cytidine, thymidine, uridine)

 DNA 2) For purine bases, the suffix -osine is used

i. Is almost always double-stranded (helix 3) The prefix -deoxy is used to indicate that the

structure) sugar present is deoxyribose. No prefix is used

ii. 2’-deoxyribose when the sugar present is ribose

 RNA
Using these rules, the nucleosides containing ribose
i. Single Stranded
and adenine is called adenosine, and the nucleoside
ii. Ribose
containing deoxyribose and thymine is called
e. SUGARS
deoxythymidine
 DNA – 2-deoxyribose (2 – deoxy means that
an oxygen atom is missing from the C2 h. Nucleoside + Phosphate = Nucleotide
position of ribose)  Nucleotides – are the building blocks of
 RNA – Ribose (Oxygen in C2 position is nucleic acids
present)  Monomers of the DNA and RNA polymers
 Each nucleotide is a 5’ – monophosphate ester
of a nucleoside
  Are named by adding 5’ – monophosphate at
the end
 Nucleotide
i. Can add additional phosphate groups to
form diphosphate or triphosphate ester
STRUCTURE OF DNA AND RNA
a. Primary Structure
 Alternating deoxyribose and phosphate group
i. Backbone of the molecule
ii. Phosphate group is linked to the 3’
carbon of one deoxyribose unit and
simultaneously to the 5’ of the next
deoxyribose unit
iii. Provides structural stability
 The bases that are the side-chain groups
i. Carry all the information necessary for
protein synthesis
b. Secondary Structure
 James Watson and Francis Crick
i. Based on the following:
ii. CHARGAFF RULE that (A & T) and (G
& C) are present in equimolar quantities
iii. Diffraction photographs obtained by
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins
iv. Linkage of nitrogenous bases on its
complementary base pair
v. Double HELIX
1. The 2 polynucleotide chains run in
opposite direction
2. One 5’ -OH and one 3’ -OH
terminal
3. Bases are hydrophobic
4. Sugar-phosphate backbone is
exposed to the aqueous environment
5. Chargaff Rule
a. For each A on one chain, a T is
aligned opposite it on the other
chain
b. G – C
c. The bases so paired from H
bonds with each other
c. Higher Structure
 DNA I the nuclei is not stretched out, but
rather coiled around basic protein molecules
called histones
i. The acidic DNA and the basic histones
attract each other by electrostatic (ionic)
forces, combining to form units called
nucleosomes
ii. In a nucleosome, 8 histones form a core,
around which a 147-base pair DNA
double helix is wound
STRUCTURE OF DNA AND RNA
A. Types of RNA
a. Messenger RNA (mRNA)
i. Carry the genetic information from the DNA
in the nucleus directly to the cytoplasm
ii. Consist of a chain of nucleotides whose
sequence is exactly complementary to one of
the strands of DNA
b. Transfer RNA (tRNA)
i. Containing from 73 to 93 nucleotides per
chain
ii. There is at least one different tRNA for each
of the 20 amino acids
iii. Transport amino acids to the site of protein
synthesis in the ribosomes
c. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
i. RNA in complexed with proteins in the
ribosomes
d. Ribozymes (specialized enzymes in RNA)
i. Catalytic RNA
ii. Catalyze the splicing of mRNA
e. Two Coding Sequence of DNA & RNA
i. Exons (coding)
ii. Introns (non-coding)