2B - Nucleic Acids Flashcards
nucleic acid
the class of
macromolecule that includes DNA
and RNA. All nucleic acids are polymers made out of nucleotide monomers
every nucleotide contains
phosphate group, 5 carbon sugar and nitrogen containing base
what do carbon bond 1, 3 and 5 join to?
1 - nitrogenous base
3 - attaches to the phosphate of the following nucleotide
5 - attaches the five-carbon sugar to the phosphate group of the nucleotide
phosphodiester bond
a strong
covalent bond linking a five-carbon
sugar to a phosphate group
what are sugar phosphate backbones and how are they formed
The linkage of sugars and phosphate groups
formation of phosphodiester bonds via condensation reactions between sugar group of one nucleotide and phosphate group of another.
many nucleotides bond together to form
polynucleotide chain
DNA consists of
two strands of nucleotides bonded together via
complementary base pairing, forming a double-helix which runs in an antiparallel fashion
gene
section of dna that codes for a specific protein
dna contains
46 chromosomes
genome
the complete set of DNA
housed within an organism
what is meant by antiparallel
a characteristic of
DNA strands - each strand runs in an opposite
direction to the other. One strand runs in a 3’ to 5’ direction and the
other runs in a 5’ to 3’ direction
mRNA
produced during transcription
carry
genetic information from the nucleus to the ribosomes
tRNA
Delivers specific amino acids to
the ribosome after recognising
specific nucleotide sequences
on mRNA
rRNA
Serves as the main structural
component of ribosomes
within cells
differences in structure of DNA and RNA
RNA has ribose sugar instead of deoxyribose
uracil instead of thymine
synthesised on demand rather than being inherited
