Nucleic Acids

Structure
1. 2 Groups of Nitrogen Bases
  1. Purines
    1. Double-ring nitrogenous bases found in nature
      1. Adenine
      2. Guanine
  2. Pyrimidines
    1. Single-ring nitrogenous bases found in nature
      1. Cytosine
      2. Uracil
      3. Thymine
2. Nucleotide
  1. One nitrogenous base, attached to the 1’ carbon of the sugar
    1. Nitrogenous bases give nucleic acids important properties
  2. A phosphate group is attached to the 5’ carbon position of sugar,
    1. Phosphate group and a hydroxyl group on the 5-carbon sugar make a phosphodiester bond
  3. A 5-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose) forms the central molecule
RNA
1. RNA polymers perform a variety of cellular functions, including delivering DNA messages to synthesize proteins and acting as enzymes or regulatory molecules in many cellular processes.
2. 5 Carbon sugar -A phosphate -Nitrogen Base
  1. Contains Ribose
  2. Four nitrogenous bases: adenine, cytosine, uracil, and guanine
DNA
1. DNA polymers store hereditary information for each living organism
  1. Heredity/genetic information:
  2. Cofactors in reactions
  3. Making proteins:
  4. Internal cell signalling.
  5. Energy carrier
2. -5 Carbon sugar -A phosphate -Nitrogen Base
  1. Deoxyribonucleic acid
  2. Involve all four bases: cytosine, guanine, adenine, and thymine

Resource summary

	Created by Valeria María Castillo Ventura over 3 years ago