Nucleic Acids

• Nucleic acids determine the characteristics and functions a cell will have
• Nucleic acids are essential for the direction of growth and development of every living organism
• Genes, found in DNA, are thousands of units of information that code for proteins
• DNA stores the information that tells cells which proteins to make and when to make them
• Structure of Nucleic Acids:

  • Made of subunits called nucleotides
  • Each nucleotide is made up of three smaller building blocks: 5 carbon sugar (in a ring), phosphate group (PO4), and nitrogen base
• Types of Nucleic Acids:

  • Organisms store hereditary information in 2 forms of nucleic acid: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
  • DNA is found in the nucleus and is the main component of genes (hereditary material)
  • The sugar in the nucleotides of DNA is called deoxyribose sugar
• DNA: Nitrogen Bases:

  • 2 types of nitrogen bases: Purines (Adenine and Guanine) and Pyrimidines (Cytosine and Thymine)
  • Thymine always pairs with Adenine, and Guanine always pairs with Cytosine
• DNA is a double chain in the form of a double helix, where the order of the bases determines the individuality of the nucleic acid
• RNA is also found in the nucleus and contains instructions for making proteins

  • The sugar in the nucleotides of RNA is called ribose sugar
  • RNA has Uracil that pairs with Adenine, and Guanine that pairs with Cytosine