Nucleic Acids Essay

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Nucleic Acids and The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology - Nucleic Acid Structure - Replication - Transcription - Translation Definition of Terms: ¤ Nucleic Acids – molecules made up of polymers of nucleotides linked by phosphodiester bonds ¤ Nucleotides – building blocks of nucleic acids, composed of a sugar, phosphate and a base ¤ Nucleosides – composed of a sugar and a base. (i.e. nucleotides without phosphate group/(s) TYPES of Nucleic Acids: 1. RNA – ribonucleic acid - The sugar in this macromolecule is a ribose 2. DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid - The sugar in this macromolecule is a deoxyribose - * Their only structural difference is the –OH group in the 2’ C position 5’ 5’ deoxyribose 4’ 1’ 4’ 1’ 3’ 2’ ribose 3’ 2’ OH ** Take note of the 1’-5’ positions of the carbons of sugar. Functionally, • DNA is a double stranded molecule responsible for the storage of genetic information • RNA transmits most of this information to make proteins. This is usually single stranded. The bases belong to one of either two types: Purine – bases containing the purine ring i.e. adenine and guanine Pyrimidine – bases containing the pyrimidine ring i.e. cytosine, thymine and uracil DNA and RNA both contain the purine bases are adenine (A) and guanine (G), as well as the pyrimidine base cutosine. But DNA only has thymine (T) for the other pyrimidine base while RNA has uracil (U) in its place. [pic] The Structural Organization of DNA 1. Primary level – describes the

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