nucleic acids biological systems

what are nucleic acids?

large molecules found in the nuclei of cells that store information and direct activities for cellular growth and reproduction

what is DNA?

deoxyribonucleic acid, genetic material in nucleus that contains all the info for development of a complete living organism

what is RNA?

ribonucleic acid, interprets genetic information in DNA to make proteins

what are the components of a nucleic acid?

phosphate group, sugar (carbohydrates), and base

what position is the base attached to the sugar?

1’ of sugar

what position is the phosphate group attached to sugar?

4’ of sugar

what type of glycosidic bond is between the sugar and base?

beta-N-glycosidic bond

what are pyrimidines?

bases with 1 ring: cytosine (C), uracil (U), thymine (T)

what are purines?

bases with 2 rings: adenine (A), guanine (G)

what bases are used for DNA?

A G C T

what bases are used for RNA?

A G C U

what group is attached to 2’ position of sugar in RNA?

OH

what group is attached to 2’ position of sugar in DNA?

H

what does “deoxy” mean

without oxygen

how many phosphate groups attached to AMP, ADP, and ATP

AMP: 1

ADP: 2

ATP: 3

how many phosphate groups are attached at a time during formation of AMP, ADP, and ATP?

1

what is the major source of energy for most energy requiring activities in the cell?

ATP, the phosphate groups make it unstable/more reactive

what is primary structure of nucleic acids?

each nucleic acid has its own unique sequence of bases, this sequence of bases carries the genetic info

what type of linkage connects the nucleotides?

3’-5’ phosphodiester bond

similarity between nucleic acids and amino acids?

both have repeating sequences

what composes the nucleic acid backbone?

phosphate & sugar

what is the R group?

varies, different bases

what is a double helix?

double helix is DNA that consists of two polynucleotide strands winding about each other

what force is holding double helix together?

IMF (H-bonding)

are theses IMF forces part of the DNA backbone or R groups?

R groups

which bases are pairing together?

purine-pyrimidine (2 rings with 1 ring)

why do two pyrimidines or 2 purines not pair together?

because it’ll either be too small or large and the double helix won’t be formed correctly