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Deoxyribonucleic Acid

DNA contains the genetic instructions needed for organisms to develop, live, and reproduce. It is made up of nucleotides with a sugar, phosphate, and one of four nitrogen bases. The bases on one DNA strand pair with the complementary base on the other strand. RNA is similar in structure but is usually single-stranded and contains ribose instead of deoxyribose. It conveys genetic information for protein synthesis.

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Albert Jade Pontimayor Legaria
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71 views10 pages

Deoxyribonucleic Acid

DNA contains the genetic instructions needed for organisms to develop, live, and reproduce. It is made up of nucleotides with a sugar, phosphate, and one of four nitrogen bases. The bases on one DNA strand pair with the complementary base on the other strand. RNA is similar in structure but is usually single-stranded and contains ribose instead of deoxyribose. It conveys genetic information for protein synthesis.

Uploaded by

Albert Jade Pontimayor Legaria
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid
WHAT IS DNA?
• Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a molecule that contains the instructions
an organism needs to develop, live and reproduce. These instructions are
found inside every cell, and are passed down from parents to their offspring's.

• The three components of a deoxyribonucleotide are a five-carbon sugar


called deoxyribose, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base, a nitrogen-
containing ring structure that is responsible for complementary base pairing
between nucleic acid strands
DNA FUNCTION
• DNA stores the information needed to build and control the cell.

• The transmission of this information from mother to daughter cells is called


vertical gene transfer and it occurs through the process of DNA replication.
DNA is replicated when a cell makes a duplicate copy of its DNA, then the cell
divides, resulting in the correct distribution of one DNA copy to each resulting
cell. DNA can also be enzymatically degraded and used as a source of
nucleosides and nucleotides for the cell. Unlike other macromolecules, DNA
does not serve a structural role in cells.
ITS STRUCTURE
• DNA is made up of molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a
phosphate group, a sugar group and a nitrogen base. The four types of nitrogen
bases are adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C). The order of
these bases is what determines DNA's instructions, or genetic code.

• Nucleotides are attached together to form two long strands that spiral to create
a structure called a double helix. If you think of the double helix structure as a
ladder, the phosphate and sugar molecules would be the sides, while the bases
would be the rungs. The bases on one strand pair with the bases on another
strand: adenine pairs with thymine, and guanine pairs with cytosine.
ITS STRUCTURE
• Analysis of the diffraction patterns of DNA has determined that there are approximately 10
bases per turn in DNA.
• The asymmetrical spacing of the sugar-phosphate backbones generates major grooves
(where the backbone is far apart) and minor grooves (where the backbone is close together).
• These grooves are locations where proteins can bind to DNA. The binding of these proteins
can alter the structure of DNA, regulate replication, or regulate transcription of DNA into
RNA.
RNA
Ribonucleicacid
WHAT IS RNA?
• Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in
coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, and,
along with lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, constitute the four major macromolecules
essential for all known forms of life.

• Like DNA, RNA is assembled as a chain of nucleotides, but unlike DNA it is more often
found in nature as a single-strand folded onto itself, rather than a paired double-strand.
Cellular organisms use messenger RNA (mRNA) to convey genetic information (using the
nitrogenous bases of guanine, uracil, adenine, and cytosine, denoted by the letters G, U, A,
and C) that directs synthesis of specific proteins. Many viruses encode their genetic
information using an RNA genome.
ITS STRUCTURE
• Each nucleotide in RNA contains a ribose sugar, with carbons
numbered 1' through 5'. A base is attached to the 1' position, in
general, adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or uracil (U).
Adenine and guanine are purines, cytosine and uracil are
pyrimidines.

• An important structural component of RNA that distinguishes it


from DNA is the presence of a hydroxyl group at the 2' position
of the ribose sugar.
DNA VS. RNA
• The chemical structure of RNA is very similar to that of DNA,
but differs in three primary ways:

• Unlike double-stranded DNA, RNA is a single-stranded


molecule in many of its biological roles and consists of much
shorter chains of nucleotides.However, a single RNA molecule
can, by complementary base pairing, form intra strand double
helixes, as in tRNA.
DNA VS. RNA
• While the sugar-phosphate "backbone" of DNA contains
deoxyribose, RNA contains ribose instead.Ribose has a hydroxyl
group attached to the pentose ring in the 2' position, whereas
deoxyribose does not. The hydroxyl groups in the ribose
backbone make RNA more chemically labile than DNA by
lowering the activation energy of hydrolysis.
• The complementary base to adenine in DNA is thymine, whereas
in RNA, it is uracil, which is an unmethylated form of thymine.

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