DNA Structure

Friedrich Miescher

Discovered the substance later called DNA in 1869.

Nuclein

The name given by Miescher to the substance he discovered in white blood cells.

Richard Altmann

Renamed 'nuclein' to 'nucleic acid'.

Chemical elements of DNA

Nitrogen (N), Carbon (C), Oxygen (O), Hydrogen (H), and Phosphorus (P).

Components of a nucleotide

A phosphate group, deoxyribose sugar, and a nitrogenous base.

Sequence of components in a nucleotide

Phosphate - Sugar - Base.

Phoebus Levene

Incorrectly concluded DNA was too simple to carry genetic information.

Griffith's experiment significance

Demonstrated bacterial transformation in 1928.

Strains used in Griffith's experiment

Smooth (S) and Rough (R) strains of Pneumococcus.

Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty's conclusion

DNA is the substance that carries genetic information.

Type of polymer DNA is

A polymer of nucleotides linked by covalent bonds.

Purine bases in DNA

Guanine and Adenine.

Pyrimidine bases in DNA

Cytosine and Thymine.

Nucleoside

A deoxyribose sugar bonded to a nitrogenous base (without phosphate).

Cause of major and minor grooves in DNA

The unequal spacing of sugar-phosphate backbones due to non-opposing C-1' carbons.

DNA sequence melting temperature

The one with more G≡C pairs due to triple hydrogen bonding will melt at a higher temperature.

RNA structure

Typically single-stranded.

Base in RNA not in DNA

Uracil (replaces Thymine).

Sugar found in RNA

Ribose instead of deoxyribose.