Nucleic Acids & DNA Replication Flashcards
What are the important factors/functions of nucleic acids ?
-They are carriers of genetic information
-They are made of nucleotides
-They are represented by DNA and RNA
-They are present in every type of cells
What is a nucleic acid?
What is a nucleotide?
-Monomers/ building blocks of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) both exist in all types of cells both carriers of genetic information
What does DNA stand for ?
Deoxyribonucleic Acid
What does RNA stand for ?
Ribonucleic Acid
What is the common structure of Nucleotides?
One to three phosphate groups which are linked by a phosphoester bond to a pentose (5-carbon atom) sugar, which in turn is linked to a nitrogenous base by a glycosidic bond
What is a phosphate group?
What is a phosphoester bond ?
What is a pentose sugar?
What is a nitrogenous base ?
What is a glycosidic bond?
What pentose sugar is found in a RNA nucleotide ?
Ribose
What pentose sugar is found in a DNA nucleotide?
Deoxyribose
Add nucleotide diagrams
What bases are present in DNA ?
Purines- Adenine and Guanine
Pyrimidines - Thimaine and Cytsine
What bases are present in RNA ?
Purines-Adeneine and Guanine
Pyrimines- Uracil and Cytosine
What are Pyrimidines ?
What are Purines?
Learn to read images of the nucleotides and be able to name them
What does RNA have that DNA does not when trying to figure out what the nucleotide is from an image?
RNA- Ribose at 2’ an OH group is connected
DNA does not have this hydroxy group
What is the function of nucleotides?
Forming nucleic acid polymers (DNA and RNA)
What is the function of nucleotides as a monomer?
-Biological energy carriers carrying high energy phosphate bonds (triphosphate nucleotides-ATP, GTP)
-To form coenzymes, essential for enzymatic activity
-Intracellular signalling molecules (Cyclic AMP or GTP)
What is a triphosphate nucleotide?
What does an Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) nucleotide look like?
What does a Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) nucleotide look like?
How do nucleotides join together?
-Link covalently with each other by phosphodiester bonds and form a linear polynucleotide strand (polymers backbone)
-The phosphodiester bond links the 5’ end of one sugar with the OH group of 3’ end of the next
- Thus, nucleic acid strands have two ends. The directionality is 5’-3’ (e.g. 5’-ATGACGATC-3’)
- In prokaryotes (e.g bacteria) the 5’ and 3’ ends of DNA strands are linked to give circular DNA. This also applies for plasmids and mitochondrial DNA (eukaryotes)