Module 1: Biological Molecules

2.1.2 Nucleic Acids

(a) state that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a polynucleotide, usually double
stranded made up of nucleotides containing the bases adenine (A), thymine (T),
cytosine (C) and guanine (G)
Nucleic acids come in two forms: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic
acid).

Phosphat
e The monomer of all nucleic acids is called a
nucleotide. Each single nucleotide is made up
Base of 3 covalently bonded units:
one phosphate group
one pentose sugar (dexoyribose in DNA
and ribose in RNA)
one organic nitrogenous base (there
Pentose are 5 possible bases: adenine, thymine,
Sugar guanine, cystosine and uracil)

A condensation reaction between the phosphate

group of one nucleotide and the sugar of another
nucleotide joins the two together. Repeating this
bond gives a long chain of nucleotides.

As nucleotides are bonded together to form chains,

the 'backbone' of the molecule consists of a
repeating sugar-phosphate chain.

(b) state that ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polynucleotide, usually single stranded,
made up of nucleotides containing the bases adenine (A), uracil (U), cytosine (C)
and guanine (G)

DNA RNA
Sugar Deoxyribose Ribose sugar
sugar
Stran Double stranded Single stranded
ds
Bases ATCG AUCG
 Module 1: Biological Molecules

(c) describe, with the aid of digrams, how hydrogen bonding between
complementary base pairs (A to T, G to C) on two antiparallel DNA polynucleotides
leads to the formation of a DNA molecule, and how the twisting of DNA produces
its 'double-helix' shape
The five organic nitrogenous bases are grouped into purines and pyramidines.
Pyramidines are smaller than purines.
Purines: Adenine (A) and Guanine (G) - Ag (Silver) is PURE metal = PURINES
Pyramidines: Thymine (T), Uracil (U) and Cytosine (C)

Purines bond with

pyramidines as they
are complementary
bases, joined together
by 2 or 3 hydrogen
bonds.
Guanine and
cytosine have 3
hydrogen bonds -
(iPhone 3G = G has
3 hydrogen bonds)
Adenine, thymine,

DNA is found in the nucleus. The molecule is twisted into a double helix in which each of
the strands are antiparallel to each other, meaning the strands always run in opposite
directions to each other. It has two sugar phosphate backbones attached to one another
by complementary bases. These bases pair in the centre of the molecule by means of
hydrogen bonds. The chains are always the same distance apart because the bases pair
up in a specific way. Where a pyramidine appears on one side, a purine appears on the other.

(d) outline, with the aid of diagrams, how DNA replicates semi-conservatively, with
reference to the role of DNA polymerase
Replicating DNA:
1. The double helix unwinds.
2. Hydrogen bonds between the bases are broken apart to 'unzip' the DNA to form two
single strands, exposing the bases.
3. Hydrogen bonds form between free DNA nucleotides and exposed bases through
complementary base pairing.
4. Covalent bonds are formed between the phosphate of one nucleotide and the sugar of
the next to seal the backbone using the enzyme DNA polymerase.
5. Each new DNA molecule consists of one conserved strand plus one newly built strand.
This process of DNA replication is described as semi-conservative replication.
 Module 1: Biological Molecules

Structure to Function in DNA:

Structure Function
Sequences of Information storage - the information is in the form of codes to build
bases proteins
Long A large amount of information can be stored
Base-pairing Means that complementary strands of information can be stored
rules
Double helix Gives the molecule stability
structure
Hydrogen bonds Easy unzipping for copying and reading information

(e) state that a gene is a sequence of DNA nucleotides that codes for a polypeptide
A gene is a sequence of DNA nucleotides that codes for a polypeptide (protein)

Proteins are made from amino acids. Different proteins have a different number and
order of amino acids. Each amino acid is coded for by a sequence of 3 bases in a gene. It's
the order of nucleotide bases in a gene that determines the order of amino acids in a
particular protein. Different sequences of bases code for different amino acids.

(f) outline the roles of DNA and RNA in living organisms (the concept of protein
synthesis must be considered in outline only)
There are 3 forms of RNA:
Messenger RNA Made as a strand complementary to the template strand - therefore
(mRNA) it is a copy of the coding strand of the double helix
Ribosomal RNA A component of ribosomes
(rRNA)
Transfer RNA (tRNA) Carries amino acids to the ribosomes, where they are bonded
together to form polypeptides

Transcriptio Forming mRNA using the template DNA strand

n
Translation Forming a polypeptide using mRNA

Protein Synthesis:
1. The double helix unwinds by breaking hydrogen
bonds, exposing the bases
2. mRNA is made using RNA nucleotides - called
transcription
3. The mRNA detaches from the DNA and leaves the
nucleus through a nuclear pore
4. The mRNA attaches to a ribosome
5. The tRNA molecules in the cytoplasm are attached to
a specific amino acid. The 3 bases bonded to the
tRNA is the anticodon and the 3 bases on the mRNA is called
the codon
6. The tRNA with the appropriate bases binds to the mRNA
strand
7. The amino acids are joined together by peptide
bonds in a condensation reaction to give a
polypeptide
Module 1: Biological Molecules