Nucleic Acid

• Nucleic acids are unique, not just because of their structure, but because they are the only ones that can store genetic information among the four types of biomolecules
• Genetic Information

  This information serves as the template fororganism’s identity, structure, and function.
• Nucleotides

  Building blocks of nucleic acids
• Nucleic acids were discovered in 1868 by Friedrich Miescher when he studied pus cells from discarded bandages of wounded patients.
• There are two types of nucleic acids: DNA and RNA. Both DNA and RNA have three main components: pentose sugar, nitrogenous base, and phosphate group
• The pentose sugar of a nucleotide serves as the main backbone of nucleic acids. It is called a pentose because it has five carbons.
• Two types of pentose sugar: ribose and deoxyribose
• The nitrogenous base is connected to the

  pentose sugar via glycosidic bond.
• When phosphorous has four oxygens attached to it, it is called a phosphate
• Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, chains are typically found in a double helix, a structure in which two matching (complementary) chains are stuck together
• In eukaryotes, such as plants and animals, DNA is found in the nucleus, a specialized, membrane-bound vault in the cell, as well as in certain other types of organelles
• In prokaryotes, such as bacteria, the DNA is not enclosed in a membranous envelope, although it's located in a specialized cell region called the nucleoid
• The nitrogenous bases extend into the interior, like the steps of a staircase, in pairs; the bases of a pair are bound to each other by hydrogen bonds.
• Ribonucleic acid (RNA), unlike DNA, is usually singlestranded.
• Four major types of RNA: messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and regulatory RNAs