Nucleic Acids Flashcards
Nucleic Acids
roles
Roles:
Storage of genetic information
Work together to translate stored data into functioning proteins
energy storage too
Atoms and structures of nucleic acids (Dna and RNA)
C,H,O,N,P
Dna –> double helix + long
Rna –> single chain (length varies)
Nucleotide definition
The basis of Dna and Rna (monomer for nucleic acid)
What does a nucleotide contain?
- Nitrogenous base (guanine, cytosine, adenine, urasil or thymine)
- Pentose sugar (deoxyribose or ribose)
- phosphate group
Sugars - which one for DNA, which one for RNA?
Deoxyribose (de-oxygenated, only has a H on carbon 2)
- DNA
Ribose
- RNA
Nitrogenous base (2 types?)
Pyrimines
Uracil (U) / RNA
Thymine (T) /DNA
Cytosine (C)
Purines
Adenine (A)
Guanine (G)
Nucleic acid (polymer)
- DNA’s nucleotides form 2 strands (twist into double helix)
- RNA nucleotideas form one straight chain that folds upon itself to form a functional shape
- mRNA (MESSENGER): Single copy of info on DNA strand
- tRNA: (TRANSFER) carrier molecule for amino acids
- rRNA: (RIBOSOME)part of structure of ribosomes
Linkages
- Nucleotide + Nucleotide linked by a phosphodiester bond (phosphate + hydroxyl group)
- betweem complimenting nucleotidfes of DNA strands (H-bonds: 2 between A-T, 3 between G-C)
Hydrogen bonds in Base pairs
Guanine cytosine: 3 H bonds
Adenine + Thymine: 2 H bonds
Other Nucleotides
There are other coenzyme nucleotides that exist such as NAD+ and FAD+ that aid in the transport of protons (H+)
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the usable energy in organisms produced during cellular respiration
Central Dogma of Molecular Biology
DNA and RNA encode for proteins
A, T, G, C are the ‘letters’ that combine to make ‘words’ (codons)
The words make a ‘sentence’ known as a gene
The genes are the instructions for specific proteins to be produced
DNA
Nucleotides link together to form polynucleotide chains
A = T
G = C
Antiparallel
RNA
RNA is single-stranded chains of nucleotides
mRNA, tRNA, rRNA
