Chapter 4: Nucleic acids Flashcards
How many hydrogen bonds form between guanine and cytosine?
3
What must the two ends of a nucleic acid be labeled?
5’ and 3’
What are they 5 key components of DNA structure?
Double stranded, bases on opposite strands held together by hydrogen bonds, bases pair up in a specific manner, if you know the sequence of one strand you can figure out the other, and it is the specific sequence of bases that determines the order of amino acids in a polypeptide chain
What two pairs have to fit inside the double helix structure and why?
Purine-pyrimidine pairs are the only ones that fit. Purine-purine pairs are too big and pyrimidine-pyrimidine pairs are too small
Where do hydrogen bonds form in the DNA structure?
G-C pairs and A-T pairs
What happens during the condensation reaction when building a nucleic acid?
Phosphodiester linkages are formed between sugar and phosphate components of backbone
Where was the paper published that contained the DNA structure?
Nature in April 1953
What did Rosalind Franklin work with that proved DNA to be a double helix?
X-Ray Crystallography
What are the activated nucleotides for RNA and DNA?
Nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) and Deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs)
What are some NTPs?
ATP, GTP, CTP, UTP (for RNA)
What is the shape of RNA?
Usually single stranded but sometimes folds back on itself when it gets long into the 2’ structure
What are the two types of nucleic acids?
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
What does RNA do?
It is necessary to translate the DNA instructions into proteins
Who was Rosalind Franklins boss that showed her photo of DNA to Watson and Crick without her consent?
Maurice Wilkins
What does deoxy mean in regards to DNA and RNA?
One less oxygen than RNA