Nucleic Acids Flashcards

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1
Q

Nucleotide

A
  • Phosphate group
  • Pentose sugar
  • Nitrogenous base
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2
Q

Pentose sugars

A
  • Deoxyribose has only a hydrogen atom at C2

- Ribose has a OH group at C2

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3
Q

Nitrogenous (Organic) bases

“As Pure As a Gold double ring”

A

Pyrimidine bases:

  • Cytosine (Guanine)
  • Thymine (Adenine)
  • Uracil (Adenine)

Double ring purine:

  • Adenine (Thymine/Uracil)
  • Guanine (Cytosine)
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4
Q

Phosphate group

A

PO4 is bound to the pentose sugar in a nucleotide at C5 (Very electronegative)

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5
Q

ATP structure

A
  • Adenine
  • Ribose
  • Three phosphate groups
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6
Q

ATP Synthesis

ADP + Pi ——> ATP

A
  • Catalysed by the enzyme ATP synthetase
  • *Phosphorylation of ADP (2 phosphate groups)
  • The reaction requires energy (ENDERGONIC)

*Phosphorylation: The adding of a phosphate group

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7
Q

ATP Hydrolysis

ATP ——> ADP + Pi

A
  • Catalysed by the enzyme ATPase
  • One mole of ATP liberates 30.6KJ of energy
  • The reaction releases energy (EXERGONIC)
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8
Q

ATP Properties/Uses

A

Universal energy currency:
-Used by all species of organism to provide energy for biochemical reactions

Intermediate energy source:

  • ATP releases less energy than a glucose molecule, so energy is released in more manageable amounts
  • Only one enzyme is needed to release energy from ATP
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9
Q

DNA Structure

A
  • Double stranded polynucleotide twisted into double helix
  • Two strands are anti parallel
  • One strand runs in a 5’ to 3’ direction while the other runs in a 3’ to 5’ direction

Contains:

  • Phosphate group
  • Deoxyribose sugar
  • Nitrogenous base (Adenine/Thymine/Cytosine/Guanine)

All joined by covalent bonds through condensation reactions

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10
Q

DNA Bonds

A
  • Phosphodiester bond between phosphate group and the pentose sugar of neighbouring nucleotide
  • Weak hydrogen bonds between bases, but structure is strong due to high number of them. H-bonds are weak as they can be broken easily during transcription
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11
Q

Complementary Base Pairing DNA

A

-A Purine (2 rings) always pairs with a Pyrimidine (1 ring), making a uniform distance of 3 rings

Pairing:
Adenine - Thymine (2 Hydrogen bonds)
Cytosine - Guanine (3 Hydrogen bonds)

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12
Q

RNA Structure

A

-Single stranded polynucleotide twisted into single helix

Contains:

  • Phosphate group
  • Ribose sugar
  • Nitrogenous base (Adenine/Uracil/Cytosine/Guanine)
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13
Q

Transfer RNA (tRNA)

A
  • Folded into a clover leaf shape
  • Amino acid binding site is at the 3’ end
  • Anticodon on tRNA ( bottom end of clover structure) complementary to codon on mRNA

Found in the cytoplasm and carries the amino acids to the ribosome during translation.

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14
Q

Messenger RNA (mRNA)

A

-Linear structure (Long straight strand)

Carries the DNA code from nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it associates with a ribosome

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15
Q

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

A
  • Found free in cytoplasm or bound to RER
  • A component of ribosomes
  • Folded into a spherical shape

Ribosomes are the site of translation (Protein synthesis)

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16
Q

Differences between the 3 types of RNA

A

mRNA: Linear structure and carries DNA from nucleus to cytoplasm

rRNA: Folded into a spherical shape and are the site of protein synthesis

tRNA: Folded into a clover leaf shape and carries the right amino acids to the ribosome during translation