Nucleic Acids - Video Notes

Nucleic acid

An unbranched polymer in which the monomer units are nucleotides.

Friedrich Miescher

Swiss physiologist who discovered nucleic acids in 1869 in nuclei of white blood cells.

Polynucleotide

A polymer consisting of many nucleotides; the basic structure of nucleic acids.

Nucleotide

The building block of nucleic acids consisting of a pentose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Pentose sugar

Five-carbon sugar found in nucleotides; ribose in RNA and deoxyribose in DNA.

Deoxyribose

Five-carbon sugar in DNA lacking the 2' hydroxyl group.

Ribose

Five-carbon sugar in RNA with a 2' hydroxyl group.

Phosphate group

Phosphate moiety linking nucleotides to form the sugar–phosphate backbone.

Nitrogenous base

Purine or pyrimidine base attached to the sugar in a nucleotide.

Purine

Two-ring bases (adenine and guanine).

Pyrimidine

Single-ring bases (cytosine, thymine, and uracil).

Adenine

Purine that pairs with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA.

Guanine

Purine that pairs with cytosine.