2B: Nucleic acids Flashcards
Nucleic acid
The class of macromolecule that includes DNA and RNA. All nucleic acids are polymers made out of nucleotide monomer subunits.
Polymer
A large molecule that is made up of small, repeated monomer subunits.
Nucleotide
The monomer subunit of nucleic acids made up of
- a nitrogen-containing base(ATGC)
- a five-carbon sugar molecule (ribose in RNA and deoxyribose in DNA)
- a phosphate group.
- Only added to the 3’ end
Monomer
A molecule that is the smallest building block
of a polymer.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
A double-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides. Carries the instructions for proteins which are required for cell and organism survival.
RNA (ribonucleic acid)
A single-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides including:
- mRNA
- rRNA
- tRNA.
Phosphodiester bond
A strong covalent bond linking a five-carbon sugar to a phosphate group.
Condensation reaction
A reaction where two monomers join to form a larger molecule, producing water as a by-product.
Sugar-phosphate backbone
A strong covalently linked chain of five-carbon sugar molecules and phosphate groups in a nucleic acid chain.
Chromosome
A structure made of protein and nucleic acids that carries genetic information.
Gene
A section of DNA that carries the code to make a protein.
Genome
The complete set of DNA housed within an organsim.
Antiparallel
A characteristic of DNA strands describing how each strand runs in an opposite direction to the other.
- The coding strand runs in a 5’ => 3’ direction
- the template strand runs in a 3’ => 5’ direction.
Complementary base pairing
Describes which nucleotides can form hydrogen bonds with each other. C pairs with G, A pairs with T (or U in RNA).
Double helix
The structure of double-stranded DNA in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, where each DNA strand wraps around a central axis.
