‭NUCLEIC ACID‬

‭ .What are Nucleic acids?Mention their functions.‬

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‭Ans:‬‭Nucleic acids are biological macromolecules that play crucial roles in the storage,‬
‭transmission, and expression of genetic information in living organisms.They are‬
‭polymers made up of monomers called nucleotides.There are two main types of nucleic‬
‭acids: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).‬

‭ unctions of Nucleic acids:‬

F
‭a.‬‭The nucleotide‬‭adenosine triphosphate (ATP) supplies the driving force of many‬
‭metabolic processes.‬
‭b.Several nucleotides are‬‭coenzymes, they act with enzymes to speed up (catalyze)‬
‭biochemical reactions.‬
‭c.Nucleotides are of great importance to living organisms, as they are the building‬
‭blocks of nucleic acids, the substances that control all hereditary characteristics.‬

‭ .What are the main differences between nucleosides and nucleotides?‬

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‭Ans:‬‭The main difference between Nucleotide and Nucleoside is very crucial to‬
‭understand the key differences between the two.‬

‭Nucleoside‬ ‭Nucleotide‬

‭ nucleoside has a chemical composition‬ A

A ‭ nucleotide has a chemical composition‬
‭that consists of a sugar and base without‬ ‭that consists of a phosphate group, sugar‬
‭the phosphate group.‬ ‭and a nitrogenous base.‬

‭ he nucleoside occurs before the‬

T ‭ nucleotide is what occurs before RNA‬
A
‭nucleotide itself.‬ ‭and DNA.‬

‭ hey are used as agents in medicine that‬ T

T ‭ hey are one of the major causes of‬
‭are primarily used against viruses and‬ ‭cancer-causing agents to this very day.‬
‭cancer-causing agents.‬

‭ ome of the key examples of nucleosides‬ S

S ‭ ome of the major examples of‬
‭are the same as nucleotides only with the‬ ‭nucleotides are adenosine, guanosine‬
‭addition of phosphate groups.‬ ‭etc.‬
‭ .What are the different types of RNA found in cell ? Name them and write‬
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‭their roles.‬
‭Ans: The different types of RNA found in cell are:‬
‭a. messenger RNA(mRNA).‬
‭b. transfer RNA(tRNA).‬
‭c. ribosomal RNA(rRNA).‬
‭These and other types of RNAs primarily carry out biochemical reactions, similar to‬
‭enzymes.RNAs play important roles in both normal cellular processes and diseases‬
‭considering their involvement in many regulatory process.‬

‭ essenger RNA(mRNA):‬
m
‭In protein synthesis,‬‭mRNA carries genetic codes from the DNA in the‬‭nucleus to‬
‭ribosomes, the sites of protein‬‭translation in the‬‭cytoplasm that means mRNA provides‬
‭the code that determines the order of amino acids in the protein‬

t‭ ransfer RNA(tRNA):‬
‭Transfer RNA (abbreviated tRNA) is a small RNA molecule that plays a key role in‬
‭protein synthesis.‬‭tRNA transports the amino acids to the ribosome to incorporate into‬
‭the growing protein chain.‬

‭ ibosomal RNA(rRNA):‬
r
‭Ribosomal RNA (rRNA), molecule in cells that forms part of the protein-synthesizing‬
‭organelle known as a ribosome and that is exported to the cytoplasm to‬‭help translate‬
‭the information in messenger RNA (mRNA) into protein‬‭.‬
‭ .Write the important structural and functional differences between DNA and RNA?‬
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‭Ans:‬
‭DNA‬ ‭RNA‬

‭Structural Differences‬

‭ he pentose sugar present in DNA is‬

T ‭ he pentose sugar present in RNA is B - D‬
T
‭B-D-2-deoxyribose.‬ ‭ribose.‬

‭ NA contains cytosine and thymine as‬

D ‭ NA contains cytosine and uracil as‬
R
‭pyrimidine bases.‬ ‭purines bases.‬

‭It has a double-stranded helix structure.‬ ‭It has a single stranded a - helix structure.‬

I‭ ts molecule is relatively long with high‬ I‭ ts molecule is relatively short with low‬
‭molecular mass .‬ ‭molecular mass.‬

‭Functional differences‬

‭DNA is the chemical basis of heredity.‬ ‭RNA is not responsible for heredity.‬

I‭ t has unique property of replication It‬ ‭It usually does not replicate‬
‭controls the transmissioin of hereditary‬
‭characters‬

‭ .The two strands in DNA are not identical but are complementary.Explain.‬
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‭Ans: Each Strand consists of four bases which are adenine, guanine, cytosine and‬
‭thymine.Within the DNA molecule,‬‭A bonds only with T and C bonds only with G.These‬
‭two strands are internally connected by hydrogen bonding between complementary‬
‭bases. The two strands of DNA are not identical because their sequence of bases has to‬
‭be complementary to each other‬
‭eg.If one sequence is ATGC then the complementary strand is TACG.‬
‭ .Name and draw the structures of different components of nucleosides and nucleotides‬
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‭by which they are made up of.‬
‭Ans:‬