Typically, a nucleic acid is a large molecule made

up of a string, or “polymer,” of units called

“nucleotides.” All life on Earth uses nucleic acids
as their medium for recording hereditary
information – that is nucleic acids are the hard
drives containing the essential blueprint or
“source code” for making cells.
Carbon Molecules Oxygen Molecules

Hydrogen Molecules Nitrogen

Molecules
Phosphorous Molecules
 Carbon Molecules
As an organic molecule, carbon acts as a key
element of nucleic acids. Carbon atoms appear
in the sugar of the nucleic acid backbone, and
the nitrogenous bases.
 Oxygen Molecules
Oxygen atoms appear in the nitrogenous bases, sugar, and
phosphates of the nucleotides. An important difference
between DNA and RNA lies in the structure of their
respective sugars. Attached to the carbon-oxygen ring
structure of ribose lie four hydroxyl (OH) groups. In
deoxyribose, one hydrogen replaces one hydroxyl group.
This difference in an oxygen atom leads to the term
“deoxy” in deoxyribose.
 Hydrogen Molecules
Hydrogen atoms lie attached to carbon and oxygen atoms within
the sugar and nitrogenous bases of nucleic acids. The polar bonds
created by hydrogen-nitrogen bonds in the nitrogenous bases
allow hydrogen bonds to form between strands of nucleic acids,
which results in the creation of double-stranded DNA, where two
strands of DNA are held together by the hydrogen bonds of the
base pairs. In DNA these base pairs align with adenine to thymine
and guanine to cytosine. This base pairing plays an important role
in both the replication and translation of the DNA.
 Nitrogen Molecules
The nitrogen-containing bases of nucleic acids appear as pyrimidines and
purines. Pyrimidines, single-ring structures with nitrogen located at the first
and third positions of the ring, include cytosine and thymine, in the case of
DNA. Uracil substitutes for thymine in RNA. Purines have a double-ring
structure, in which a pyrimidine ring joins to a second ring at the fourth and
fifth carbon atoms to a ring known as an imidazole ring. This second ring
contains additional nitrogen atoms at the seventh and ninth positions.
Adenine and guanine are the purine bases found in DNA. Adenine, cytosine,
and guanine have an additional amino group (containing nitrogen) attached
to the ring structure. These attached amino groups are involved in the
hydrogen bonds formed between base pairs of different nucleic acid strands.
 Phosphorous Molecules
Attached to each sugar is a phosphate group composed of
phosphorous and oxygen. This phosphate allows the sugar
molecules of different nucleotides to be linked together in a
polymer chain.
General Formula
Nucleotides consists of three distinct
chemical groups:

 5-carbon sugar
 A nitrogen-rich base
 phosphate
STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
There are two types of nucleic acid: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Both play a central role in every
function of every living organism. Nucleic acids have similar basic
structures with important differences. They are composed
of monomer nucleotides connected like links in a chain to form
nucleic acid polymers. Nucleotides consist of a nucleoside (the
combination of a pentose monosaccharide molecule and
a nitrogenous base) and a phosphate group. The difference
between RNA and DNA lies in a single nitrogenous base and a
single atom of oxygen within a sugar molecule.
Nucleic Acid Structure of DNA
The structure of DNA, a globally recognized double-helix, is based upon the two strands
of a sugar-phosphate backbone held together by nitrogenous base spindles. DNA
contains four nitrogenous bases, or nucleobases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and
guanine. These are naturally occurring compounds which give each nucleotide its name,
and are divided into two groups – pyrimidines and purines. While the pyrimidines
cytosine, thymine and uracil (see RNA) are small, single-ringed constructions, adenine,
and guanine are larger and double-ringed. This difference in shape and size and a
subsequent difference in electrical charge is important, as it allows only specific
complementary pairings between different group types; in DNA, adenine will only bond
with thymine and cytosine will only bond with guanine. This creates nitrogenous base
spindles of the same length and a mirror image on the opposite strand.
RNA
RNA is found in every type of cell. It is essential for the production of proteins
via the replication of genetic information. Using the DNA blueprint, RNA in
various forms copies and transfers encoded genetic data to cellular
ribosomes. In turn, the ribosomes translate this data into the form of
proteins. RNA is not associated with the double-helix structure of DNA.
However, it has the ability to form this structure for a temporary period and
exists in single strands of varying lengths. Even in denucleated red blood
cells, RNA continues to carry out the process of transcription. This is because
protein biosynthesis is necessary for every reaction within a living organism.