nucleic acids- chpater 2 Flashcards
what are the components make up the nucleotide structure
-pentose sugar
-a phosphate group
-a nitrogen containing organic base= cytosine, thymine, uracil, adenine, guanine
how are the components of the nucleotide structure joined together
a condensation reaction
what may the two mononucleotides join together between
the deoxyribose sugar and the phosphate group of another by condensation reaction
what bond is formed in the condensation reaction of two mononucleotides
a phosphodiester bond
what makes up the ribonucleic acid structure
-polymer made up of nucleotides
-single, relatively short, polynucleotide chain
what is the pentose sugar always
always ribose
what are the organic bases for RNA
guanine, cytosine and uracil
what are 3 functions of RNA
- transferring genetic information from DNA to ribosomes
-ribosomes themselves are made up of proteins and another type of RNA
-RNA is also involved in protein synthesis
who worked out the structure of DNA
watson and crick
what is the pentose sugar for DNA
deoxyribose
what are the organic bases for DNA
adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine
what is DNA made up of
two strands of nucleotides (polynucleotides) that are extremely long and joined by hydrogen bonds
what do the bases on the two strand attached by
hydrogen bonds
what does adenine pair with
thymine
what does guanine pair with
cytosine
why is DNA a stable molecule (long answer)
-the phosphodiester backbone protects the more chemically reactive organic bases inside the double helix
-hydrogen bonds link the organic base pairs-forming bridges between the phosphodiester uprights. As there are three hydrogen bonds between cytosine and guanine, the higher the proportion of C-G pairings, the more stable the DNA molecule.
how many hydrogen bonds are between cytosine and guanine
3
how many hydrogen bonds are between adenine and thymine
2
why is it good good that DNA is very stable
it passes from generation to generation without significant change
why is it good that there are two separate strands in DNA
as they’re only joined by hydrogen bonds it allows them to separate during DNA replication and protein synthesis
why is it good that DNA molecules are extremely large
carries an enormous amount of genetic information
why is it good that there are base pairs within the helical cylinder of the deoxyribose-phosphate backbone
means the genetic information is somewhat protected from being corrupted by outside chemical and physical forces
why is it good that DNA has base pairings
leads to DNA being able to replicate and transfer information as mRNA
what two stages happens in cell divison
nuclear division and cytokinesis
what is nuclear division
process by which the nucleus divides, mitosis and meiosis