NUCLEIC ACID

Presented by : Meerab fatima

Group name : 102B
INTRODUCTION
▪ Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that
play essential roles in all cells and
viruses..Nucleic acids are chemical
compounds that are found in nature. They
carry information in cells and make up
genetic material. These acids are very
common in all living things, where they
create, encode, and store information in every
living cell of every Life form on Earth. In turn,
they send and express that information inside
and outside the cell nucleus. From the inner
workings of the cell to the young of a living
thing, they contain and provide information
via the nucleic acid sequence. This gives the
RNA and DNA their unmistakable 'ladder-
step' order of nucleotides within their
molecules. Both play a crucial role in
directing protein synthesis.
TYPES AND SIZE
▪ The nucleobases found in the two nucleic
acid types are different: adenine, cytosine,
and guanine are found in both RNA and
DNA, while thymine occurs in DNA and
uracil occurs in RNA.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 single-stranded.
DNA STRUCTURE
▪
Secondary structure is the set of interactions between bases, i.e.,
which parts of strands are bound to each other. In DNA double helix,
the two strands of DNA are held together by hydrogen bonds.
The nucleotides on one strand base pairs with the nucleotide on the
other strand. The secondary structure is responsible for the shape that
the nucleic acid assumes. The bases in the DNA are classified
as purines and pyrimidines. The purines are adenine and guanine.
Purines consist of a double ring structure, a six-membered and a five-
membered ring containing nitrogen. The pyrimidines
are cytosine and thymine. It has a single ring structure, a six-
membered ring containing nitrogen. A purine base always pairs with a
pyrimidine base (guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C) and adenine (A)
pairs with thymine (T) or uracil (U)). DNA's secondary structure is
predominantly determined by base-pairing of the two polynucleotide
strands wrapped around each other to form a double helix. Although
the two strands are aligned by hydrogen bonds in base pairs, the
stronger forces holding the two strands together are stacking
interactions between the bases. These stacking interactions are
stabilized by Van der Waals forces and hydrophobic interactions, and
show a large amount of local structural variability.[7] There are also two
grooves in the double helix, which are called major groove and minor
groove based on their relative size.
▪
RNA STRUCTURE
▪ The secondary structure of RNA consists of a single polynucleotide.
Base pairing in RNA occurs when RNA folds between
complementarity regions. Both single- and double-stranded regions
are often found in RNA molecules.

▪ The four basic elements in the secondary structure of RNA are:

▪ Helices

▪ Bulges

▪ Loops

▪ Junctions

▪ The antiparallel strands form a helical shape.[3] Bulges and internal

loops are formed by separation of the double helical tract on either
one strand (bulge) or on both strands (internal loops) by unpaired
nucleotides
TERTIARY STRUCTURE
▪ Tertiary structure refers to the locations of the atoms in three-dimensional space, taking into
consideration geometrical and steric constraints. It is a higher order than the secondary
structure, in which large-scale folding in a linear polymer occurs and the entire chain is
folded into a specific 3-dimensional shape. There are 4 areas in which the structural forms of
DNA can differ.
▪ Handedness – right or left

▪ Length of the helix turn

▪ Number of base pairs per turn

▪ Difference in size between the major and minor grooves [3]

▪ The tertiary arrangement of DNA's double helix in space includes B-DNA, A-DNA, and Z-
DNA.Triple-stranded DNA structures have been demonstrated in repetitive
polypurine:polypyrimidine Microsatellite sequences and Satellite DNA
 QUATERNARY STRUCTURE
▪ The quaternary structure of nucleic acids is similar to that of protein
quaternary structure. Although some of the concepts are not exactly the
same, the quaternary structure refers to a higher-level of organization of
nucleic acids. Moreover, it refers to interactions of the nucleic acids with
other molecules. The most commonly seen form of higher-level organization
of nucleic acids is seen in the form of chromatin which leads to its
interactions with the small proteins histones. Also, the quaternary structure
refers to the interactions between separate RNA units in
the ribosome or spliceosome.[
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
▪ Sparingly soluble in water.

▪ Absorb light in UV region at 260 nm. (

detection & quantitation of nucleotides)
▪ Capable of forming hydrogen bond.

▪ Aromatic base atoms numbered 1 to 9.

▪ Purine ring is formed by fusion of

pyrimidine ring with imidazole ring.
▪ Numbering is anticlockwise.
THANKS!