Nucleic Acids Structure and Function

Nucleobases

Nitrogenous bases that are either purine or pyrimidine (adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil)

5 carbons, 6 carbons

How many carbons are in a purine? pyrimidine?

Nucleosides

Nitrogenous base and pentose sugar (RNA or DNA)

Ribose has hydroxyl on 2’ carbon

What is the difference between RNA and DNA?

Nucleotide

Phosphate, pentose sugar, and nitrogenous base

Phosphodiester bonds

What bonds are in the phosphate group connected to pentose sugar?

N-glycosidic bond

What bond is used for bases connected to pentose sugar?

ATP/GTP hydrolysis

Where is energy stored in phosphoanhydride bonds released from?

Allosteric regulators

What are molecules like AMP/ADP/ATP/GDP considered?

PFK-1

What does AMP/ADP regulate in glycolysis to signal low energy status?

Nucleic acid

Term used to describe larger structure of changes of nucleotides like DNA/RNA

Activated precursor biosynthesis, signal transduction, and building blocks for nucleic acids

What are three major functions of nucleotides?

DNA

Double helix with strands running antiparallel, composed a sugar-phosphate backbone

Perpendicular

Bases are nearly (perpendicular or parallel) to axis because of the H-bonding affecting the angle

Watson-crick pairing

Hypothesis that showed the pairing of A-T and G-C

3 bonds, two bonds, G-C

How many bonds are between G-C? A-T? Which is stronger?

Major groove

Helix twist lengths are different sizes, has a longer helix/backbone

Minor groove

Helix twist lengths are different sizes, has a shorter backbone

Nucleosomes

Pairs of histones aggregate to form octameric core structure and DNA is wound around these octamers

Allows DNA to be wound and stored or unwound

What is the function of nucleosomes?

Chromosomes

What is the final condensation of DNA considered?

Euchromatin

Less condensed form of chromatin that is transcriptionally accessible

Heterochromatin

More condensed form, transcriptionally inactive, maintains structural integrity

Gene

Basic physical and functional unit of heredity made up of DNA

Chromosome

Nucleoprotein of genetic information made up of DNA and histones

Genome

Complete set of DNA in a cell

RNA

Which structure (DNA and RNA) is more reactive/less stable because of extra hydroxyl group?

Hair-pin loops

Loops in RNA that are formed by intra-strand base pairing

Uracil

What base does RNA use instead of thymine?

mRNA

Messenger RNA carriers of genetic info and created during transcription

rRNA

Ribosomal RNA that forms ribosomes that are used to synthesize proteins with two subunits

tRNA

Transfer RNA, small cytoplasmic RNAs and carry an independent amino acid to ribosomes

snRNA

Small nuclear RNA, small RNAs found in the nuclei of eukaryotic cells and mainly used for splicing