Nucleic Acids

• Composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and

phosphorus
• Carriers of the genetic code (recipe book for proteins)
• Two types: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA
(ribonucleic acid)
• Molecule responsible for heredity

store, transmit and express hereditary information

Introduction
The Central Dogma
of Molecular Biology

Cell

Transcription DNA

mRNA
Translation Ribosome

Polypeptide
(protein)
©1998 Timothy G. Standish
Nucleic acids store, transmit, and help express hereditary
information

• The amino acid sequence of a polypeptide is

programmed by a unit of inheritance called a gene
• Genes are made of DNA, a nucleic acid made of
monomers called nucleotides
The Roles of Nucleic Acids

• There are two types of nucleic acids

• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
• Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
• DNA provides directions for its own replication
• DNA directs synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA)
and, through mRNA, controls protein synthesis
• Protein synthesis occurs on ribosomes
Nucleotide Monomers

Nucleic acids are composed of many monomers linked

together by dehydration synthesis.
These monomers are called nucleotides.
These monomers are composed of a monosaccharide
(deoxyribose in DNA or ribose RNA), a phosphate
group, and a nitrogenous base. The nitrogenous bases
found in DNA are adenine A, Thymine T, Guanine G,
and Cytosine C. The nitrogenous bases found in RNA
are Adenine A, Guanine G, Cytosine C, and Uracil U,
which replaces thymine.
Nucleotide Structure
DNA Structure
The structure of DNA was
discovered by an American
scientist (James Watson) and a
British scientist (Francis Crick)
based on the work of Rosalind
Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. In
1962 Watson and Crick received
the Nobel Prize for their work.
Wilkin later received a Nobel Prize
for work relating to his
contribution.
Rosalind Franklin however, never
received a Nobel Prize because
she died of cancer before she was
publicly recognized for her
contributions to this effort.
The Double Alpha Helix of DNA
DNA is a double stranded,
alpha helical molecule.
5’
Each strand is composed of
nucleotide covalently
bonded between their
phosphate groups and the
deoxyribose sugar
components in a 5-3 linkage
between the sugars and
phosphates.
The nitrogenous bases point
outward from the linear 3’
alternating sugar phosphate
backbone.
The Double Alpha Helix of DNA
When two strands of DNA join
to form the alpha helix, it is
due to hydrogen bonding
between the complimentary
purine and pyrimidine bases
on each complimentary
strand. Adenine forms
hydrogen bonds with
Thymine and Guanine forms
hydrogen bonds with
Cytosine.
This is called Complementary
Base Pairing.
The Double Alpha Helix of DNA
The complementary
strands run in opposite
directions or anti-
parallel to each other.
The Double Alpha Helix of DNA
The strands begin to spiral and due to hydrogen
bonding takes on the double alpha helix form.
A Nucleotide
Adenosine Mono Phosphate (AMP)
OH
Phosphate
- NH2
HO P O Base
N
H +
H
O N
H
5’ CH2
N N
Nucleotide O
4’ 1’
Sugar Nucleoside
3’ 2’

OH H
OH
 Purines Pyrimidines
NH2 O O
Thymine Uracil
Adenine CH3 (DNA) (RNA)
N NH NH
N
N N N O N O
O
NH2
Guanine
N Cytosine
NH
N
N N NH2 N O
Base Pairing
Guanine And Cytosine

N
- H

O
+
N uan

Cyt
H N
G

o
sine
+
N
N H

-
in e

H
N
N
N

+ -O
H
Base Pairing
Adenine And Thymine

H +

3
CH
H -
Adenine N Thymine

O
N

N N- +

N
H
N

O
Base Pairing
Adenine And Cytosine

H H+ + H

Cyt
N H N
Adenine

osine
N
- -
N N
N
N -O N
Base Pairing
Guanine And Thymine

3
CH
ym in e
- Th
N

-
O

O
N uan
G

N
N
+ +
N
N H
ine

H
H

O
N

+
H
 • Nucleoside = nitrogenous base + sugar
• There are two families of nitrogenous bases
• Pyrimidines (cytosine, thymine, and uracil) have a
single six-membered ring
• Purines (adenine and guanine) have a six-
membered ring fused to a five-membered ring
• In DNA, the sugar is deoxyribose; in RNA, the sugar
is ribose
• Nucleotide = nucleoside + phosphate group

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Nucleotide Polymers

• Nucleotide polymers are linked together to build a

polynucleotide
• Adjacent nucleotides are joined by covalent bonds
that form between the —OH group on the 3 carbon
of one nucleotide and the phosphate on the 5
carbon on the next
• These links create a backbone of sugar-phosphate
units with nitrogenous bases as appendages
• The sequence of bases along a DNA or mRNA
polymer is unique for each gene

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Structures of DNA and RNA Molecules

• RNA molecules usually exist as single polypeptide

chains
• DNA molecules have two polynucleotides spiraling
around an imaginary axis, forming a double helix
• In the DNA double helix, the two backbones run in
opposite 5→ 3 directions from each other, an
arrangement referred to as antiparallel
• One DNA molecule includes many genes
• The nitrogenous bases in DNA pair up and form
hydrogen bonds: adenine (A) always with thymine (T),
and guanine (G) always with cytosine (C)
• Called complementary base pairing
• Complementary pairing can also occur between two
RNA molecules or between parts of the same molecule
• In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil (U) so A and U
pair
Comparing and Contrasting DNA and RNA

• DNA bases (A,T,G,C) • RNA bases (A,U,G,C)

• Deoxyribose sugar • Ribose sugar
• Original information for • Working copy for making
making proteins proteins
• One form or type • Variety of forms, m-RNA, t-
• Found primarily in the RNA, r-RNA
nucleus forms • Found in nucleus and
chromosomes during cell through the cell
division
• Smaller molecules (single
• Large molecule (double stranded)
stranded)
DNA RNA
 DNA

1 Synthesis of
mRNA
mRNA

NUCLEUS
CYTOPLASM
 DNA

1 Synthesis of
mRNA
mRNA

NUCLEUS
CYTOPLASM

mRNA
2 Movement of
mRNA into
cytoplasm
 DNA

1 Synthesis of
mRNA
mRNA

NUCLEUS
CYTOPLASM

mRNA
2 Movement of
mRNA into Ribosome
cytoplasm

3 Synthesis
of protein

Amino
Polypeptide acids
Back to dimensions…
• How many nucleotides in the human genome?
• GENOME: “one haploid set of chromosomes with the genes they
contain; broadly : the genetic material of an organism” Merriam-Webster
Collegiate Dictionary 11th edition

• ~3,000,000,000 / haploid complement.

• How far apart are successive bases?
• 0.34 nm
• What is the sum of the length of DNA molecules in a single
human cell?
3 x 109 x 0.34 nm x 2 = 20.4 x 108 nm
20.4 x 108 nm (i. e., 2.04 x 109 nm)

• How long is this?

• How long is this?
• 109 nanometers = 106 micrometers
• 106 micrometers = 103 millimeters
• 103 millimeters = 100 meters

• therefore
• 2.04 x 109 nm = 2.04 meters
 So…
• There are two meters of DNA in each human cell
except erythrocytes…

• How many cells are there in a human?

• 1014
• So, how much DNA (in linear units?)
• 2 x 1014 meters
• or 2 x 1011 kilometers
• or 1.25 x 1011 miles