Biological

Chemistry 1B
Week 11

Nucleic Acids
 Nucleic Acids
Functions:
Store information
Direct activities for cellular growth and reproduction
DNA contains all the genetic material in the nucleus
Types
DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid
RNA – ribonucleic acid
Composed of unbranched polymers of repeating monomer
units called nucleiotides
Each nucleiotide has 3 components
 A nitrogenous base
 A five carbon sugar (pentose)
 A phosphate group (PO4)

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 Bases

DNA bases RNA bases

2 purines adenine (A) adenine (A)
guanine (G) guanine (G)

2 pyrimidines cytosine (C) cytosine (C)

thymine (T) uracil (U)

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 Ribose and Deoxyribose Sugars

RNA and DNA

5 carbon sugar RIBOSE (R)
Atoms in pentose sugars numbered
with primes ie. 1’,2’,3’,4’,5’
In DNA no –OH group at C2’
Deoxy prefix means “without
oxygen” DEOXYRIBOSE (D)

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 Nucleiosides and Nucleiotides
Nucleiosides
Produced when a pyrimidine or a purine forms a
glycosidic bond to C1’ of a sugar (ribose or deoxyribose)
Naming
 RNA/ribose sugar
 ribose + adenine = adenosine
 ribose + guanine = guanosine and so on....
 DNA/deoxyribose sugar
 deoxyribose + adenine = deoxyadenosine
 deoxyribose + guanine = deoxyguanosine and so on....

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 Nucleiotides
 Produced when a C5’ –OH group of ribose or deoxyribose forms an
phosphate ester (ester bond)
 Only the 5’-monophosphate nucleiotides are found in RNA and DNA
 Nucleioside + purine = ending osine
 Nucleioside + pyrimidine = ending idine
 Naming – RNA/ribose sugar
base -side -tide
Adenine adenosine(A) adenosine 5’-monophosphate (AMP)
Guanine guanosine(G) guanosine 5’-monophosphate (GMP)
Cytosine cytidine(C) cytidine 5’ – monophosphate (CMP)
Uracil uridine (U) uridine 5’ – monophosphate
(UMP)

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  DNA/deoxyribose sugar
 Naming
base -side -tide
Adenine deoxyadenosine(A) deoxyadenosine 5’-monophosphate
(dAMP)
Guanine deoxyguanosine(G) deoxyguanosine 5’-monophosphate
(dGMP)
Cytosine deoxycytidine(C) deoxycytidine 5’ – monophosphate
(dCMP)
Uracil deoxythymidine(T) deoxythymidine 5’ –
monophosphate (dTMP)

Ref p595 Table 17.1 and p594 Fig 17.4

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 Primary Structure of NA’s

Nucleic acids –NA

Polymers of many nucleiotides
3’-OH group of the sugar in one nucleiotide bonds to the
phosphate group on the 5’carbon atom in the sugar of the
next nucleiotide
Phosphate link is called a phosphodiester bond
Primary structure – unique sequence of bases of each
NA
 This sequence carries the genetic information from one cell to the
next

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 Backbone forms of alternating sugar groups and
phosphate groups
Sugar at one end has unreacted or free 5’phosphate
terminal end
Sugar at the opposite end has a free 3’ hydroxyl (-OH)
group
A NA sequence is read from the sugar with the free
5’phosphate to the sugar with the free 3’ hydroxyl
Order is written using only the letters of the bases
 Eg. 5’-A-C-G-U-3’ Fig 17.5 p597

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 DNA double helix
 History –1940’s scientists proposed DNA has relationship between bases
 Determined 1:1 purine :pyrimidine
 Adeninie (A) = Thymine (T)
 Guanine (G) = Cytosine (C)
 History –1953 Watson & Crick proposed double helix molecule of DNA
 2 polynucleiotide strands winding around each other
 Sugar-phosphate backbones outside (compared to the railings)
 Bases inside (compared to steps)
 Run in opposite directions
 One strand 5’ to 3’ direction
 Other 3’ to 5’ direction

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 Complementary Base Pairs
Each base on one strand forms hydrogen bonds to
specific base on other strand making complementary
base pairs
These are:
Adenine – Thymine 2 hydrogen bonds
A - T
Guanine – Cytosine 3 hydrogen bonds
G-C

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 DNA replication
1. Strands of “parent” separate/unwind
2. Synthesis of complementary strands
3. Presence of enzyme – helicase breaks hydrogen bonds
between complementary bases
4. Separate strands act as templates for replication
5. Compared to a zipper
6. After the base pairs are formed -Enzyme DNA polymerase
catalyzes the formation of phosphodiester bonds between
nucleiotides
7. Eventually whole DNA helix is copied – this process
produces two daughter DNA’s that are identical to the
parent DNA
8. One strand of the new DNA is from the original, the other
strand is the newly synthesised strand
p601 Qu 17.15,16,17,18
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 RNA
 Makes up most of the nucleic acid found in cells
 Involved in transmitting genetic information needed
to operate the cell
 Sugar in RNA is ribose
 Base Thymine (T) is replaced with Uracil (U)
 Single stranded
 Much smaller than DNA

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 Types of RNA
Three major types of RNA

ribosomal or rRNA

messenger or mRNA

transfer or tRNA

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 ribosomal RNA/ rRNA
Ribosomal RNA
Most abundant type
Combined with proteins in structures called
ribsomes – site for new protein synthesis
Ribsomes consist of 2 units a small
subunit and a large subunit
Located on the rough endoplasmic
reticulum (rough ER) in the cytoplasm
Fig 17.9 p602

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 messenger RNA/ mRNA
Carries genetic information from the DNA
in the nucleus to ribosomes in the cytoplasm
for protein synthesis
Each gene produces a separate mRNA
depending upon protein type needed
Broken down when used

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 transfer RNA/ tRNA
 Smallest units
 Interpret genetic information in mRNA
 Brings specific amino acids (base unit of proteins) to the
ribosome for protein synthesis
 Only RNA that can translate the genetic information into amino
acids (AA) for protein
 There are 20 known AA’s and there are one or more different
tRNAs for each
 All tRNA have 3’ end with the nucleiotide sequence ACC
 This is called the acceptor stem
 An enzyme attaches an AA by forming an ester bond with the
free
–OH at the end of the acceptor stem
 Each tRNA contains an anticodon – a series of three bases that
compliments the bases on a mRNA
17  Fig 17.10 p603
 RNA and protein synthesis
 Nucleus – genetic information copied from a gene
in DNA to make mRNA
 Process called transcription
 mRNA move out of the nucleus into the
cytoplasm – combine with ribosomes
 tRNA convert the information in mRNA into
amino acids
 Process called translation
 AA’s placed in proper sequence to form specific
proteins

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  Transcription
 Begins when section of a DNA is copied and unwinds
 RNA polymerase uses one of the strands as a template to make mRNA
 Follows code as in DNA where C pairs with G but A pairs with U not T

 RNA polymerase moves along DNA template strand

 Bonds formed between bases
 When the enzyme reached the termination point
 Transcription ends
 New mRNA released
 DNA double helix reforms

Fig 17.12 p605

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 The amino acids
Non-essential Essential
 Alanine Ala  Histidine His
 Arginine Arg  Isoleucine Ile
 Asparagine Asn  Leucine Leu
 Aspartic acid Asp  Lysine Lys
 Cysteine Cys  Methionine Met
 Glutamic acid Glu  Phenylalaline Phe
 Glutamine Gln  Threonine Thr
 Glycine Gly  Tryptophan Trp
 Proline Pro  Valine Val
 Serine Ser
 Tyrosine Tyr
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 The Genetic Code
 Consists of three base nucleiotides called a triplet in mRNA
 This is called a codon
 These specify the AAs and their sequence in the protein
 Codons have been determined for 20 AA
 64 codons are possible for triplet combinations of A,G,C, U
 The combinations in turn denote a protein
 One amino acid can have several codons eg. glycine GGU,
GGC,GGA or GGG and also functions
 Eg. AUG as a Start codon or in the middle denotes AA
methionine
 Stop signal codons : UGA, UAA,UAG ---terminate synthesis
 Repeating triplets produce a polypeptide
 Eg. uracil UUU ----produced phenylalanine –UUU-UUU-UUU-
21  Ref p606 table 17.3 for other codons for AA & polypeptide
 Protein synthesis
 Synthesised mRNA moves out of the nucleus into the
cytoplasm
 Translation process – tRNA molecules, AA’s and
enzymes convert codons to make proteins
 tRNA activated for protein synthesis by enzyme
tRNA synthetase
 Each tRNA contains a loop called an anticodon
 This is a triplet of bases that complements a codon in the
mRNA
 Synthetase uses the anticodons to attach the correct AA to
the acceptor stem of the tRNA (incorrect attachment –
hydrolyzed)

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  Inititation of protein synthesis begins when mRNA combines with
a ribosome which read the codons and translate to form specific
protein

Eg. Codon AUG AGA AGC --------- UGG (mRNA

strand)
Anticodon UAC UCU UCG --------- ACC (tRNA
strand)
amino acid met ser arg trp
 First codon is the start codon AUG
 Second AA in sequence then “plugs” into complex
 A peptide bond forms between the AA’s
 First tRNA detaches from mRNA template, second moves over,
third “plugs” in over next codon sequence, and so on.. translocation
 Polypeptide is released when ribsome reaches stop codon
(UAA,UAG or UGA) – termination

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