Nucleoproteins

and
nucleic acids

What is Nucleoprotein?
Nucleoprotein,is a conjugated proteinconsisting of
aproteinlinked to a nucleic acid,
eitherDNA(deoxyribonucleic acid) orRNA(ribonucleic
acid).
The protein combined with DNA is commonly either
histone or protamine; the resulting nucleoproteins
are found in chromosomes. Many viruses are little more
than organized collections of deoxyribonucleoproteins.
Little is known about the proteins linked with RNA;
unlike protamine and histone, they appear to contain
the amino acid tryptophan.

What is Nucleic acid?

Nucleic acidallow organisms to transfer genetic
information from one generation to the next. There
are two types of nucleic acids: deoxyribonucleic
acid, better known as DNA and ribonucleic acid,
better known as RNA.
When acell divides, its DNA is copied and passed
from one cell generation to the next generation.
DNA contains the "programmatic instructions" for
cellular activities. When organisms produce
offspring, these instructions, in the form of DNA,
are passed down. RNA is involved in the synthesis
of proteins. "Information" is typically passed from
DNA to RNA to the resultingproteins.

Here are some quick nucleic acid facts to get you

started:
Nucleic acids are the molecules that code
the genetic information of organisms.
The two nucleic acids used in repair, reproduction
and protein synthesis are deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA, shown) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
DNA and RNA are polymers made up of monomers
called nucleotides.
A DNA molecule is a double helix made up of two
strands of polymers that are complementary to each
other, but not identical. Hydrogen bonding holds the
base pairs of the two strands together.
RNA is used to direct the production of proteins by the cell.

IMPORTAN
CE

IMPORTANCE AND ROLE OF

NUCLEIC ACIDS

Nuleic acids (DNA, RNA) are important information carrying

molecules in all living organisms. DNA is generally used to carry
the genetic information of living organisms and RNA is genereally
involved in the transcription (mRNA) and translation (tRNA)
processes that result in the production of proteins from genes
coded by DNA.

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.

 Nucleic acidsmake upDNA, the building block

of life. Without nucleic acids there would be no
DNA, and therefore no way fororganismsto be
"built". DNA allows organisms to change and
diversify. RNA is also made up of nucleic acids.
RNA is what copies the information from DNA
and takes it to ribosomes (protein synthesizing
organelles). Without RNA new proteins could not
be made, which means that new cells could not
be made either. No cells being produced means
no multicellular (or single celled) organisms.

Your entire genetic composition, personality, maybe even intelligence

hinges on molecules containing a nitrogen compound, some sugar,
and an acid. Thenitrogenous basesare molecules either
calledpurinesorpyrimidines.
PurinesandPyrimidinesare nitrogenous bases that make up the
two different kinds of nucleotide bases inDNA and RNA.
Purines include (The two-carbon nitrogen ring bases )
Adenine
Guanine
Pyrimidines include (one-carbon nitrogen ring bases )
Cytosine
Thymine (in DNA)
Uracil (in RNA)

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

DNA contains two strands of nucleotides arranged in a way
that makes it look like a twisted ladder (called adouble
helix). The nitrogenous bases that DNA builds its doublehelix upon are adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and
thymine (T). The sugar that is in the composition of DNA is
2-deoxyribose.
Adenine is always paired with thymine (A-T), and guanine is
always paired with cytosine (G-C). These bases are held
together by hydrogen bonds, which form the rungs of the
twisted ladder. The sides of the ladder are made up of the
sugar and phosphate molecules.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

The nitrogenous bases that RNA uses are adenine, guanine,
cytosine, and uracil (instead of thymine). And, the sugar in
RNA is ribose (instead of 2-deoxyribose). Those are the
major differences between DNA and RNA.
In most animals, RNA is not the major genetic material.
Many viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) that causes AIDS contain RNA as their genetic
material. However, in animals, RNA works along with DNA
to produce the proteins needed throughout the body.

IMPORTANCE AND ROLE OF

NUCLEOPROTEINS

Anucleoproteinis anyproteinthat is structurally

associated withnucleic acid(eitherDNA orRNA).
The proteins that combine with DNA are generally of
characteristic types calledhistones and protamines.
They are essential too.
Deoxyribonucleoproteins (complexes of DNA and
proteins) constitute the genetic material of all organisms
and of many viruses. They function as the chemical basis
of heredity and are the primary means of its expression
and control. Most of the mass of chromosomes is made
up of DNA and proteins whose structural and enzymatic
activities are required for the proper assembly and
expression of the genetic information encoded in the
molecular structure of the nucleic acid.

Ribonucleoproteins (complexes of RNA and proteins)

occur in all cells as part of the machinery for protein
synthesis. This complex operation requires the
participation of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), amino acyl
transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs),
each of which interacts with specific proteins to form
functional complexes called polysomes, on which the
synthesis of new proteins occurs.

NOTHING

Or a nonliving thing.

Composition
of Nucleic Acids
(DNA & RNA)

DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid

DNA controls all living processes
including production of new cells
cell division
DNA carries the genetic code
stores and transmits genetic
information from one generation to
the next
Chromosomes are made of DNA
DNA is located in the nucleus of the
cell

Model of DNA:
The model was
developed by
Watson and Crick in
1953.
They received a
nobel prize in 1962
for their work.
The model looks like
a twisted ladder
double helix.

Untwisted
it looks like
this:

The sides of the ladder are:

P = phosphate
S = sugar molecule
The steps of the ladder are C,
G, T, A = nitrogenous bases
(Nitrogenous means containing
the element nitrogen.)

A = Adenine
(Apples are Tasty)
T = Thymine
A always pairs with T in DNA

Nucleotide

C = Cytosine
(Cookies are Good
G = Guanine
C always pairs with G in DNA

 It is the order of these base pairs that

determines genetic makeup
One phosphate + one sugar + one base =
one nucleotide

Nucleotides are the building blocks of

DNA thus, each strand of DNA is a
string of nucleotides

RNARibonucleic Acid
RNA is a messenger that allows the
instruction of DNA to be delivered to
the rest of the cell
RNA is different than DNA:
1.The sugar in RNA is ribose; the
sugar in DNA is deoxyribose
2.RNA is a single strand of
nucleotides; DNA is a double
strand of nucleotides
3.RNA has Uracil (U) instead of
Thymine (T) which is in DNA
4.RNA is found inside and outside of
the nucleus; DNA is found only

DNA AND RNA NUCLEOTIDES

BONDING

NUCLEOPROTEIN
Nucleoprotein is one of the proteins which consists in 10%-20% of
salmon milt.
The main compositions of Nucleoprotein are DNA (Deoxyribonucleic
acid) and Protamine.
DNA has been used for health food and pharmaceutical products for
anti-aging and improving stamina.
Protamin maintains and protects DNA from being damaged. 2/3 of
Amino acid in Protamine is Arginine, which has functions of
improving liver functions, fertility and stamina.
Arginine plays an important role in cell division, the healing of
wounds, removing ammonia from the body, immune function, and the
release of hormones and it is famous among athletes.
Since Nucleoprotein is the combination of DNA and Protamine, it has
synergistic effects.

STRUCTUR
E

Nucleic acid
structure

refers to thestructureofnucleic acidssuch asDNAandRNA.

Chemically speaking, DNA and RNA are very similar. Nucleic
acid structure is often divided into four different levels
primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary.
Nucleic acids consist of a chain of linked units called
nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of three subunits:
aphosphate group and asugar(ribosein the case
ofRNA,deoxyriboseinDNA) make up the backbone of the
nucleic acid strand, and attached to the sugar is one of a set
ofnucleobases. The nucleobases are important inbas
pairingof strands to form higher-levelsecondaryandtertiary
structuresuch as the fameddouble helix.

Nucleotide

Nucleotidesareorganic moleculesthat serve

as themonomers, or subunits, ofnucleic
acidslikeDNAandRNA. The building blocks of
nucleic acids, nucleotides are composed of
anitrogenous base, afive-carbon
sugar(riboseordeoxyribose), and at least
onephosphate group.

The
structure of
nucleotide
monomers.

Primary structure

Primary structure consists of a linear sequence of nucleotides

that are linked together by phosphodiester bonds. It is this
linear sequence of nucleotides that make up the primary
structure of DNAorRNA. Nucleotides consist of 3 things:
Nitrogenous base

Adenine
Guanine
Cytosine
Thymine(present inDNAonly)
Uracil(present inRNA only)

5-carbon sugar which is called deoxyribose (found in DNA) and

ribose (found in RNA).
One or more phosphate groups.

Chemical structure of DNA

Chemical structure of DNA and RMA

Secondary structure

Thesecondary structure of a nucleic acid

moleculerefers to thebase pairinginteractions within
a single molecule or set of interacting molecules, and
can be represented as a list of bases which are paired
in a nucleic acid molecule.The secondary structures of
biologicalDNA's andRNA's tend to be different:
biological DNA mostly exists as fullybase
paireddouble helices, while biological RNA is single
stranded and often forms complicated base-pairing
interactions due to its increased ability to
formhydrogen bondsstemming from the
extrahydroxylgroup in theribosesugar.

Secondary structure is the set of interactions between

bases, i.e., parts of which is strands are bound to each
other. In DNA double helix, the two strands of DNA are
held together byhydrogen bonds. Thenucleotideson
one strandbase pairswith 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 asPurinesandPyrimidines. The
purines areAdenineandGuanine. Purines consist of a
double ring structure, a six membered and a five
membered ring containing nitrogen.


The pyrimidine areCytosineandThymine. It
has a single ringed structure, a six membered
ring containing nitrogen. A purine base always
pairs with a pyrimidine base (Guanosine (G)
pairs with Cytosine(C)and Adenine(A) pairs
with Thymine (T) orUracil(U). DNA's
secondary structure is predominantly
determined bybase-pairingof the two
polynucleotide strands wrapped around each
other to form adouble helix. There is also
amajo grooveand aminor grooveon the
double helix.

These four strands associate into this structure because it maximizes

the number of correctbase pairs, withA's matched toT's andC's
matched toG's

The double helix

is an importanttertiary structurein
nucleic acid molecules which is
intimately connected with the
molecule's secondary structure.
A double helix is formed by regions
of many consecutive base pairs.

Twocomplementaryregions of nucleic acid molecules

will bind and from adouble helicalstructure held
bybase pairs.

Stem-loop
structures

The secondary structure of nucleic acid

molecules can often be uniquely decomposed
into stems and loops. Thestem-loopstructure
in which a base-paired helix ends in a short
unpaired loop is extremely common and is a
building block for larger structural motifs such
as cloverleaf structures, which are four-helix
junctions such as those found intransfer RNA.

RNA stem-loop secondary structure

Pseudoknots

A pseudoknot is a nucleic acid secondary structure

containing at least twostem-loopstructures in which
half of one stem is intercalated between the two halves
of another stem. Pseudoknots fold into knot-shaped
three-dimensional conformations but are not
truetopological knots. Thebase pairingin pseudoknots
is not well nested; that is, base pairs occur that
"overlap" one another in sequence position.

Naturally occurring pseudoknot is found

in the RNA component of human
telomerase.

Tertiary structure

Thetertiary structure of anucleic acidis

its precise three-dimensional structure, as
defined by the atomic
coordinates.RNAandDNAmolecules are
capable of diverse functions ranging from
molecular recognition to catalysis. Such
functions require a precise three-dimensional
tertiary structure.

The double helix

is the dominant tertiary structure for biological

DNA, and is also a possible structure for RNA.
Three DNA conformations are believed to be
found in nature,A-DNA, B-DNA, andZ-DNA.
The "B" form described byJames D.
WatsonandFrancis Crickis believed to
predominate in cells.

The structures of the A-, B-, and ZDNA double helix structures.

Major and minor groove

triplexes

The minor groove triple is a ubiquitousRNAstructural

motif. Because interactions with theminor grooveare
often mediated by the 2'-OH of theribose sugar, this
RNA motif looks very different from itsDNAequivalent.
Although the major groove of standard A-form RNA is
fairly narrow and therefore less available for triplex
interaction than the minor groove, major groove triplex
interactions can be observed in several RNA
structures. These structures consist of several
combinations ofbase pairand Hoogsteen interactions.

Major groove triples in the group II intron inOceanobacillus Iheyensis. Each stacked
layer is formed by one triplex with a different color scheme. Hydrogen bonds
between triplexes are shown in black dashed lines. "N" atoms are colored in blue
and "O" atoms in red.

Quadruplexes

Besidesdouble helicesand the abovementioned triplexes,RNAandDNAcan both

also form quadruple helices. There are diverse
structures of RNA base quadruplexes. Four
consecutiveguanineresidues can form a
quadruplex in RNA byHoogsteenhydrogen
bonds to form a Hoogsteen ring

Typical Ring Structure of a Hoogsteen paired Gquartet.

Quaternary structure

Thequaternary structure of a nucleic acidrefers to

the interactions between separate nucleic acid
molecules, orbetween nucleic acid molecules and
proteins. The concept is analogous toprotein quaternary
structure, but as the analogy is not perfect, the term is
used to refer to a number of different concepts in
nucleic acids and is less commonly encountered.
Quaternary structure can refer to the higher-level
organization of DNA inchromatin.
It may also refer to the interactions between separate
RNA units in theribosomeorspliceosome.


DNA
to
Chromatin

PROPERTIE
S

PROPERTIES OF NUCLEIC ACID

1) Optical Property: Absorbance in UV at 260 nm
2) Melting Temperature: Tm analysis
3) One useful property of the nucleic acid bases is their strong
UV absorption in the range from 250-280nm

CHARACTERISTIC
S

RNA
CHARACTERISTICS
Single stranded except for some viruses, which may have
2 stranded RNA
Composed of 5 carbon sugar ribose phosphate group and
a nitrogen base, either adenine, guanine, cystosine or
uracil.
Contain uricil instead of thymine
Necessary for protein synthesis
Has 3 types: tRNA, rRNA and mRNA

DNA
CHARACTERISTICS
Two DNA strands form a helical spiral, winding around a helix axis
in a right-handed spiral
The two polynucleotide chains run in opposite directions
The sugar-phosphate backbones of the two DNA strands wind
around the helix axis like the railing of a spiral staircase
The bases of the individual nucleotides are on the inside of the
helix, stacked on top of each other like the steps of a spiral staircase
-joined by base pairs (G +C & A +T)
2nm wide
0.34 nm per base pair = 10 base pairs per turn of helix (3.4nm)
The 2 strands are complementary

*Thank you.