What does a polynucleotide chain serve as?
It serves as assembly instructions for all proteins in living organisms.
Full name for DNA? What’s it do?
-Deoxyribonucleic acid
-Stores hereditary information
Full name of RNA? What’s it do?
-Ribonucleic acid
-Involved in protein synthesis
What are nucleic acids composed of? What are their functions?
They’re composed of nucleotides linked by phosphodiester bonds.
Functions are data storage, energy currency and cellular communication.
What does DNA usually stay as for much of a cells life?
Long strands called chromatin.
As cells prepare to divide…
The genetic material condenses into chromosomes.
How does the genetic material condense into chromosomes?
The chromatin is tightly coiled around proteins called histones.
What’s the combination of chromatin and histones called?
Nuclesomes.
What do nucleic acids consist of?
Sugar, phosphate group and a nitrogenous base.
What are the two types of nitrogenous bases?
Pyrimidines (1 ring) and Purines (2 rings)
What are the three pyrimidines?
Uracil (U), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C)
What are the two purines?
Adenine (A), Guanine (G)
How do base pairs bond?
Through phosphodiester bonds.
Where do phosphate bridges form?
Between the 5’ carbon of one sugar and the 3’ carbon of the next sugar.
Where else can nucleotides be found?
In metabolic processes as energy transporters.
What direction does DNA run?
Anti parallel
What are nitrogenous bases held together by?
Hydrogen bonds.
How many hydrogen bonds form between A and T? C and G?
A and T = 2
C and G = 3
What does RNA consist of?
Ribose sugar, phosphate group, A U C & G.
Two facts about RNA?
It’s a single stranded molecule and converts information stored in DNA into proteins.
