Nucleic Acids Flashcards
What three components make up a nucleotide?
Pentose sugar
Phosphate
Organic bases containing nitrogen
What are the five nitrogen containing organic bases?
Adenine Thymine Guanine Cytosine Uracil
How are the three components of a nucleotide joined together?
Condensation reactions
How are many nucleotides joined together?
Bonded together by phosphodiester bonds
What word do we use to describe base pairings?
Complementary
What are the bases in base pairings attached by?
Hydrogen bonds
What are the two complementary base pairings?
Adenine and Thymine
Cytosine and Guanine
How stable is DNA?
Very stable
How does the phosphate backbone make DNA stable?
Protects the organic bases
How do hydrogen bonds make DNA stable?
Hydrogen bonds link organic bases and form bridges between the phosphodiester uprights
In DNA what are the two strands in terms of eachother?
Antiparallel
What is the function of DNA?
Pass on genetic information
How is DNAs length adapted to pass on genetic information?
Very long so can carry lots of genetic information
Why is DNA reliable at passing on DNA?
Very stable so very rarely mutates
Why is DNA having hydrogen bonds between the pairs good to pass on genetic information?
The hydrogen bonds can separate ro form two seperate strands in DNA replication
Why is DNA’s structure good for protecting DNA?
The base pairs are protected by the sugar phosphate backbone
Why are base pairings good for DNAs function?
Base pairings can transfer information mrna
How is the structure of DNA and RNA different?
DNA double helix structure and double stranded sugar phosphate whereas RNA single stranded sugar phosphate
What is the difference in the pentose sugar DNA and RNA contain?
DNA contains deoxyribose whereas RNA contains ribose
How are the nitrogen bases of DNA and RNA different?
DNA contains A,T,C and G but no U whereas RNA contains A,C,G and U but no T
What is the difference in length between DNA and RNA?
DNA is extremely long whereas RNA is relatively short
How are DNA and RNA different in terms of stability?
DNA is more stable because deoxyribose doesn’t have a OH group on C2 so is less susceptible to hydrolysis whereas RNA contains ribose which does have a OH group so it is less stable
What is the difference between where DNA and RNA are found?
DNA is found in the nucleus of a cell whereas RNA is found in the cytoplasm and is synthesised in the nucleus.
