3.

3 Nucleic Acids: Information

Molecules
Are polymers called polynucleotides
Composed of monomers called nucleotides

Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base,
a pentose sugar, and a phosphate group

The portion of a nucleotide without the
phosphate group is called a nucleoside

They perform specific functions within cells
Store & transfer genetic information



There are 2 types of polynucleotides:

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
- Stores information for the synthesis of specific proteins
- directs protein sysnthesis through RNA
- stores hereditary information

RNA (Ribonucleic acid)
- transcribes hereditary information to direct protein synthesis
through mRNA.
- mRNA carries the information needed for protein syntheis
(intermediary between DNA and machinery for protein synthesis)


5' end
5'C
3'C
5'C
3'C
3' end
(a) Polynucleotide, or nucleic acid
(b) Nucleotide
Nucleoside
Nitrogenous
base
3'C
5'C
Phosphate
group
Sugar
(pentose)
5 end
Nucleoside
Nitrogenous
base
Phosphate
group
Sugar
(pentose)
(b) Nucleotide
(a) Polynucleotide, or nucleic acid
3 end
3C
3C
5C
5C
Nitrogenous bases
Pyrimidines
Cytosine (C) Thymine (T, in DNA) Uracil (U, in RNA)
Purines
Adenine (A) Guanine (G)
Sugars
Deoxyribose (in DNA) Ribose (in RNA)
(c) Nucleoside components: sugars
Nucleotide Monomers
Nucleotide = nucleoside + phosphate
group
Nucleoside = nitrogenous base + sugar
There are two families of nitrogenous bases:
Pyrimidines (cytosine, thymine, and uracil) have a single
six-membered ring (6C)
Purines (adenine and guanine) have a six-membered
ring fused to a five-membered ring (9C)

In DNA, the sugar is deoxyribose; in RNA,
the sugar is ribose
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Structure of nucleotides
Each nucleotide consists of 3 components:
a) Five carbon sugar (ribose (RNA) & deoxyribose (DNA) )
b) A phosphate group (-PO
4
)
c) Organic nitrogenous base (nitrogen-containing base)

Ribose (in RNA) Deoxyribose (in DNA)
Sugars
(c) Nucleoside components: sugars
Structure of nucleotides
Two types/varieties of organic bases:

a)Purines: large double-ring molecules (9C)
-Adenine (A) & guanine ( G)
-Found in both DNA & RNA

b) Pyrimidines: smaller single ring molecules (6C)
-Cytosine (C) (DNA & RNA), thymine (T)
(DNA only) & uracil (U) (RNA only)

(c) Nucleoside components: nitrogenous bases
Purines
Guanine (G) Adenine (A)
Cytosine (C) Thymine (T, in DNA) Uracil (U, in RNA)
Nitrogenous bases
Pyrimidines
- 4 types each in DNA and RNA
Polymerization of nucleotides
Condensation reaction

Phosphate group of one nucleotide binds to the hydroxyl
group of adjacent nucleotide

Water is released

Phosphodiester bond
Polynucleotide is a linear molecule called a strand.

Sugar-phosphate backbone five-carbon sugars linked by
phosphodiester bonds with organic bases protruding to one side
of the backbone

Sequence of bases along a DNA or mRNA polymer is unique for
each gene


Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Encoded genetic information - specifying the AAs
sequence of proteins
One DNA molecule includes many genes

Double helix twisted chains - antiparallel
Each step - complementary base pairing
consisting of a base from one nucleotide joined by
hydrogen bond to the base of the opposite nucleotide

Base-pairing rules are rigid:
Thymine (T)-Adenine (A)
Cytosine (C) Guanine (G)



Sugar-phosphate
backbones
3' end
3' end
3' end
3' end
5' end
5' end
5' end
5' end
Base pair (joined by
hydrogen bonding)
Old strands
New
strands
Nucleotide
about to be
added to a
new strand
Double-helix two
twisted chains -
antiparallel
The DNA double helix and its replication
Base-pairing rules are rigid:
Thymine (T)Adenine (A)
Cytosine (C)Guanine (G)

complementary to each other
Example of complementary base-pairing

Complementary
base pairing
during replication
DNA and Proteins as Tape
Measures of Evolution
Evolution is the study of the biology of all species
on the planet Earth and how the species have
developed through time.

The linear sequences of nucleotides in DNA
molecules are passed from parents to offspring

Two closely related species are more similar in
DNA than are more distantly related species

Molecular biology can be used to assess
evolutionary kinship
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
The genetic information stored in DNA must be
translated from the language of nucleic acids to the
protein language.

Translation is a term used to describe protein
biosynthesis.

RNA synthesis is the process of copying DNA
nucleotide sequence information into RNA sequence
information.

Allows genetic information to be translated through
the entire organism.
Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
Polymer of nucleotides
Contain ribose sugar
Single-stranded molecules
Encode protein-building
instructions from DNA
Act as a messenger to
translate the code into
proteins

Three types
a) messenger RNA (mRNA)
b) transfer RNA (tRNA)
c) ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

Comparison between DNA & RNA
DNA RNA
Sugar deoxyribose ribose
Nitrogenous bases adenine, guanine, thymine
& cytosine
adenine, guanine, uracil
& cytosine

Strands double-stranded with base
pairing
single-stranded
Helix yes no
Location nucleus nucleus & cytoplasm
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
Energy currency of the cell
Adenine key component of ATP
Also occur in the molecules of nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide (NAD
+
) & flavin adenine dinucleotide
(FAD)
NAD
+
& FAD carry electrons used to make ATP

Last 2 phosphates are unstable
Energy functions of ATP
Synthesis of macromolecules

Muscle contraction

Metabolic and cellular driver

Nervous system functioning
Monomers or
Components
Polymer or Larger
molecules
Types of Linkage
Sugars Monosaccharides Polysaccharides Glycosidic linkages
Nucleic Acids Nucleotides Polynucleotides Phosphodiester linkages
Proteins Amino acids Polypeptides Peptide bonds
Lipids Fatty acids Triacylglycerols Ester Linkages
Characteristics of the different polymers