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Understanding DNA Nucleotide Structure

DNA and RNA are polymers made up of nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a pentose sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogenous base. In DNA the sugar is deoxyribose, the bases are A, T, C, G, and thymine is only found in DNA. In RNA the sugar is ribose, the bases are A, C, G, U, and uracil replaces thymine. Nucleotides are joined by phosphodiester bonds between the phosphate of one nucleotide and pentose of the next, forming the backbone of the polymer chain.

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293 views8 pages

Understanding DNA Nucleotide Structure

DNA and RNA are polymers made up of nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a pentose sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogenous base. In DNA the sugar is deoxyribose, the bases are A, T, C, G, and thymine is only found in DNA. In RNA the sugar is ribose, the bases are A, C, G, U, and uracil replaces thymine. Nucleotides are joined by phosphodiester bonds between the phosphate of one nucleotide and pentose of the next, forming the backbone of the polymer chain.

Uploaded by

Sabina Babaieva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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DNA
Nucleotide Structure & the Phosphodiester Bond
Both DNA and RNA are polymers that are made up of many repeating
units called nucleotides

Each nucleotide is formed from:

A pentose sugar (a sugar with 5 carbon atoms)

A nitrogen-containing organic base

A phosphate group

DNA nucleotides
The components of a DNA nucleotide are:

A deoxyribose sugar with hydrogen at the 2′ position

A phosphate group

One of four nitrogenous bases – adenine (A), cytosine(C), guanine(G) or


thymine(T)

DNA 1
RNA nucleotides
The components of an RNA nucleotide are:

A ribose sugar with a hydroxyl (OH) group at the 2′ position

A phosphate group

One of four nitrogenous bases – adenine (A), cytosine(C), guanine(G)


or uracil (U)

The presence of the 2′ hydroxyl group makes RNA more susceptible to


hydrolysis

This is why DNA is the storage molecule and RNA is the transport molecule
with a shorter molecular lifespan.

DNA 2
DNA 3
DNA 4
Nucleotide Structure Table

DNA 5
Phosphodiester bonds
DNA and RNA are polymers (polynucleotides), meaning that they are made up of
many nucleotides joined together in long chains

Separate nucleotides are joined via condensation reactions

These condensation reactions occur between the phosphate group of one


nucleotide and the pentose sugar of the next nucleotide

A condensation reaction between two nucleotides forms a phosphodiester bond

It is called a phosphodiester bond because it consists of a phosphate group


and two ester bonds (phosphate with double bond oxygen attached – oxygen –
carbon)

The chain of alternating phosphate groups and pentose sugars produced as a result
of many phosphodiester bonds is known as the sugar-phosphate backbone (of
the DNA or RNA molecule)

DNA 6
Unlike DNA, RNA nucleotides never contain the nitrogenous base thymine (in
place of this they contain the nitrogenous base uracil) and unlike DNA, RNA
nucleotides contain the pentose sugar ribose (instead of deoxyribose).

Types of RNA:

DNA 7
general function - protein synthesis
they are usually a single strand (DNA is always double)

mRNA - carries genetic information from DNA to ribosomes. It encodes an amino acid
sequence of a polypeptide
tRNA - interprets the language of mRNA into amino acid language. tRNA recognises
codons of mRNA and transfers amino acid which is coded by codon.
rRNA - it is found in the subunits of ribosomes. The most abundant type of RNA.

In order to be good genetic material, amino acids should be able to replicate.


DNA is replicated before cell division.

Replication
Two strands are separated from each other by an enzyme called helicase

Old strands are used as templates


DNA polymerase adds nucleotides to form two new strands in 5' and 3' direction.

DNA 8

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