Nucleic Acids

DNA and RNA

Hundreds of thousands of proteins exist inside each

one of us to help carry out our daily functions.
These proteins are produced locally, assembled
piece-by-piece to exact specifications

This information, detailing the specific structure of the

proteins inside of our bodies, is stored in a set of
molecules called nucleic acids.

Nucleic Acids DNA and RNA

DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid
RNA - ribonucleic acid
DNA- stores genetic information
RNA - use in protein synthesis
for putting genetic information

COMPOSITION OF NUCLEIC ACIDS

Nucleic Acids are POLYMERS
Proteins are polypeptides,
Carbohydrates are polysaccharides
Nucleic acid is polynucleotide- made of
NUCLEOTIDES

Structure of NUCLEOTIDE
The deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, is a long chain of
nucleotides which consist of
Deoxyribose (a pentose = sugar with 5
carbons)
Phosphoric Acid
Organic (nitrogenous) bases (Purines Adenine and Guanine, or Pyrimidines
-Cytosine and Thymine

The Structure of Nucleic Acid

Nucleic Acid is a polymer of
nucleotides
It is a very large molecule that have
two main parts. The backbone of a
nucleic acid is made of alternating
sugar and phosphate molecules bonded
together in a long chain
phosphodiester bonds.
Each of the sugar groups in the
backbone is attached (via the bond
shown in blue) to a third type of
molecule called a nucleotide base.
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The Structure of Nucleic Acids

The phosphodiester bonds link the 3' carbon in the
sugar ring of one nucleotide to the 5' carbon on the
next nucleotide
sequence of bases constitutes the genetic information

Different pentose sugars in RNA & DNA

RNA

DNA

Sugar carbons
have prime
numbers, to
distinguish them
from atoms in
bases

Nucleotides
Deoxyribonucleotides

Ribonucleotides

Heterocyclic Nitrogen Bases

RNA

DNA

DNA - POLYNUCLEOTIDE
NUCLEOTIDE
NUCLEOSIDE
PHOSPHATE
DEOXYRIBOSE

GETEROCYCLIC
NITROGEN BASE

ADENIN CYTOSIN GUANIN THYMINE

RNA - POLYNUCLEOTIDE
NUCLEOTIDE
NUCLEOSIDE
PHOSPHATE
RIBOSE

GETEROCYCLIC
NITROGEN BASE

ADENIN CYTOSIN GUANIN URACIL

Structure of Nucleic Acid

Only four different nucleotide bases can occur in a
nucleic acid, each nucleic acid contains millions of
bases bonded to it.
The order in which these nucleotide appear in the
nucleic is the coding for the information carried in
the molecule.
In other words, the nucleotide serve
as a sort of genetic alphabet on
which the structure of each protein
in our bodies is encoded.

DNA
In the early 1950s, four scientists, James Watson and
Francis Crick at Cambridge University and Maurice
Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin at King's College,
determined the true structure of DNA from data and Xray pictures of the molecule that Franklin had taken. In
1953, Watson and Crick published a paper in the
scientific journal Nature describing this research.
Watson, Crick, Wilkins and Franklin had shown that
not only is the DNA molecule double-stranded, but the
two strands wrap around each other forming a coil, or
helix.

WATSON-CRICK MODEL
Combination of two single strands
The Double Helix

Sugar-phosphate backbone
outside,
bases inside
1953

WATSON-CRICK MODEL
Bases form specific base pairs, held together by hydrogen bonds

Structure compatible with any sequence of bases

WATSON-CRICK MODEL
The nucleotide bases of the
DNA molecule form
complementary pairs:
adenine always bonds to thymine
(and vice versa)
and guanine always bonds to cytosine
(and vice versa).
This bonding occurs across
the molecule, leading to a
double-stranded system

As a trick for remembering how the

bases pair up (if symbols are arranged
in alphabetical order):

Adenine Cytosine

G
Guanine

T
Thymine

The base pairing is the key to understanding

how DNA functions

Watson-Crick base pairs

Hydrogen bonds are weaker than covalent bonds (eg. C-C or

C-N)
Covalent bonds determine structure,
Weak hydrogen bonds - Stabilize double helix

Base Pairing in DNA

DNA samples from different cells of the same species have the
same proportions of the four heterocyclic bases
DNA samples from different species have different proportions
of bases
Human DNA contains:
30% - Adenine
equal amounts
30% - Thymine
A=T
20% - Guanine equal amounts
20% - Cytosine G = C
The bases occur in pairs!!!

DNA replication
The double-stranded DNA molecule has
the unique ability that it can make exact
copies of itself, or self-replicate. When
more DNA is required by an organism
(such as during reproduction or cell
growth) the hydrogen bonds between the
nucleotide bases break and the two
single strands of DNA separate. New
complementary bases are brought in by
the cell and paired up with each of the
two separate strands, thus forming two
new, identical, double-stranded DNA
molecules.

DNA
The blueprint for the structure and functioning of our
bodies is contained in the genetic material found in the
nucleus.
The total number of base pairs in a human cell the
HUMAN GENOME is 3 billion base pairs
The genetic material (chromatin) is composed of DNA
(Deoxyribonucleic acid) and protein
When a cell is not actively dividing, its nucleus is occupied by
CROMATIN

CHROMATIN
DNA

HISTONE

Chromatin is DNA wound tightly around proteins called

histones.
During cell division, chromatin organizes itself into
CHROMOSOMES
Each chromosome contain a different DNA molecule!!!
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What is a chromosome?
It is a linear strand of DNA in combination with
nuclear proteins
We refer to this complex of DNA and proteins as
chromatin
It is a linear array
of genes
As a set - they are
our genome

CHROMOSOME
Organisms differ in their number of chromosomes
64 chromosomes - 32 pairs
38 chromosomes - 19 pairs

6 chromosomes - 3 pairs

46 chromosomes - 23 pairs
Heredity is encoded in DNA within the chromosomes

What is a GENE?
During cell division the DNA is duplicated so that each new
cell receives a complete copy
Each DNA molecule is made up of many GENES
GENE is individual segment of DNA that contains the
instructions that direct the synthesis of a single polypeptide

RNA
Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, gets its name from the
sugar group in the molecule's backbone - ribose.
Several important similarities and differences
exist between RNA and DNA.

DNA vs RNA
DNA consists of two associated
polynucleotide strands that wind
together in a helical fashion. It is
often described as a double helix
Most RNA is single stranded
and does not form a double helix

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DNA vs RNA
DNA Composition

RNA Composition

Deoxyribose (a pentose =
sugar with 5 carbons)

Ribose (a pentose = sugar

with 5 carbons)

Phosphoric Acid

Phosphoric Acid

Organic (nitrogenous) bases:

Organic (nitrogenous) bases:

(Purines - Adenine and

Guanine, or Pyrimidines
-Cytosine and Thymine)

Purines (Adenine and

Guanine) and Pyrimidines
(Cytosine and Uracil)

DNA vs RNA
DNA Composition

RNA Composition

The base composition is

variable, but in all cases the
amount of adenine is equal to
the amount of thymine (A=T).

The rule A+C=U+G CAN'T

BE APPLIED THERE

In the same manner,

C=G.

because most RNA is single

stranded and does not form a
double helix

Consequently
A+C = T+G

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RNA
RNA (ribonucleic acid) is the messenger of DNA within
the cell.
Forms of RNA direct the cell to manufacture specific
enzymes and other proteins
There are several different kinds of RNA made by the
cell:
mRNA - messenger RNA
tRNA - transfer RNA
rRNA - ribosomal RNA

Central Dogma
How does the sequence of a strand of DNA correspond
to the amino acid sequence of a protein? This concept is
explained by the central dogma of molecular biology
that deals with the detailed residue-by-residue transfer
of sequential information, and states that:
information cannot be transferred back from protein
to either protein or nucleic acid.

In other words, 'once information gets into protein, it

can't flow back to nucleic acid.'

Central Dogma
Every time a cell divides, three fundamental
processes known as:

Replication
Transcription
Translation
RNA take place in the duplication, transfer, and
use of genetic information

Replication
Process by which copies
of DNA are made when a
cell divides (each of two
daughter cells has the
same DNA)

Transcription
Process by which copies
the genetic information in
DNA is read and used to
synthesize RNA
CODON - in the mRNA is
a series of three
ribonucleotides that is a
code for a specific amino
acid.
Example: GGU on mRNA
- codon for GLYCINE

Translation
Process by which the genetic
message is decoded and
used to make proteins
Every cell contains 20 or
more different tRNAs, each
designed to carry a
specific amino acid.
A tRNA molecule is L-shaped
and it is a sequence of three
nucleotides called ANTICODON
The Anticodon of each tRNA is complementary to mRNA codon
Ex: mRNA CODON
CUG

tRNA ANTICODON
GAC

Points to remember

Nucleic Acids and their structure

Nucleotide vs Nucleoside
DNA and RNA composition
Watson-Crick model of DNA
What is a chromosome?
What is a GENE?
DNA vs RNA
Replication, Transcription, Translation