DNA Structure Flashcards
What is the name of a nucleotide?
2’-deoxyadenosine 5’-monophosphate
What do nucleotides comprise of?
a base, a sugar, and phosphate
What do nucleosides comprise of?
base+sugar
What are the functions of nucleotides?
energy storage (ATP), enzymatic co-factors (NAD, NADPH)
What sugar does RNA have?
ribose
What is the structure of ribose?
five carbon atoms
What sugar does DNA have?
deoxyribose
What is the structure of deoxyribose?
lacks hydroxyl group at 2’ carbon
What is a glycosidic bond?
in DNA/RNA, the base is attached to the 1’ carbon
What joins the nucleotides together into a linear strand?
3’ and 5’ positions will form covalent bonds
What are two types of bases in DNA and RNA?
purines and pyrimidines
What are purines?
adenina, guanine
What are pyrimidines?
cytosine, thymine, and uracil
What is the nucleoside form of adenine?
adenosine
What is the nucleoside form of guanine?
guanosine
What is the nucleoside form of cytosine?
cytidine
What is the nucleoside form of thymine?
thymidine
What is the nucleoside form of uracil?
uridine
How do purines make glycosidic bonds?
through the 9 position of the base to the 1’ carbon of the sugar
How do pyrimidines make glycosidic bonds?
through the 1 position of the base to the 1’ carbon of the sugar
What is the backbone of DNA or RNA?
repeating of sugar and phosphate
How are nucleotides joined?
a phosphodiester bond between the 3’ hydroxyl of one sugar and the phosphate attached to the 5’ hydroxyl of the next sugar
How are nucleic acid strands asymmetric?
one end has an exposed 3’ hydroxyl, the other end has an exposed 5’ phosphate
What are nucleic acid sequences written?
in the 5’ to 3’ direction (the DNA strand to the right has the sequence: ATGC)
How do DNA strands associate?
via non-covalent hydrogen bonds to form double-stranded DNA
How many H-bonds bond A and T?
2 H-bonds
How many H-bonds bond C and G?
3 H-bonds
What type of base pairs are AT and GC?
Watson-Crick base pairs
Why are strands complementary?
the sequence of one strand dictates the sequence of the other strand
What direction are two strands?
antiparallel - one strand runs from 5’ to 3’ while the other runs 3’ to 5’
What is the most energetically favorable formation of double stranded DNA?
two strands to wind around one another in a right-handed double helix