Nucleic Acid

Nucleic acids are the biopolymers, or

small biomolecules, essential to all known
forms of life. The term nucleic acid is the
overall name for DNA and RNA. They are
composed of nucleotides, which are
the monomers made of three components:
a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and
a nitrogenous base. If the sugar is a
compound ribose, the polymer
is RNA (ribonucleic acid); if the sugar is
derived from ribose as deoxyribose, the
polymer is DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid).
Nucleic acids are the most important of all
biomolecules. They are found in abundance
in all living things, where they function to
create and encode and then store
information in the nucleus of every living
cell of every life-form organism on Earth. In
turn, they function to transmit and express
that information inside and outside the cell
nucleus—to the interior operations of the
cell and ultimately to the next generation of
each living organism. The encoded
information is contained and conveyed via
the nucleic acid sequence, which provides the
'ladder-step' ordering of nucleotides within
the molecules of RNA and DNA.

History
Nucleic acids were discovered by Friedrich
Miescher in 1869. In the early
1880s Albrecht Kossel further purifies the
substance and discovers its highly acidic
properties. He later also identifies the
nucleobases. In 1889 Richard
Altmann creates the term nucleic acid.
In 1938 Astbury and Bell published the first
X-ray diffraction pattern of DNA.
In 1953 Watson and Crick determined
the structure of DNA. Experimental studies
of nucleic acids constitute a major part of
modern biological and medical research,
and form a foundation
for genome and forensic science, and
the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries.

Structure of DNA
DNA consists of 2 polynucleotide chains or
strands, wound around each other such
that they resemble a twisted ladder. This
structure is referred to as the double helix.
The backbone of each of these strands is a
repeating pattern of a 5-carbon sugar and a
phosphate group. Each sugar is attached to
one of the four nitrogen-containing bases:
A, T, G, or C.
The sugar present in the nucleotide is a
deoxyribose, hence the name
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In the double
helix DNA structure, all four bases are
confined to the inside of the double helix,
held in place by hydrogen (H) bonds linking
complimentary bases on the two strands.
The sugar-phosphate backbones of DNA
are on the outside of the double helix.
DNA is the acronym for deoxyribonucleic
acid, usually 2'-deoxy-5'-ribonucleic acid.
DNA is a molecular code used within cells
to form proteins. DNA is considered a
genetic blueprint for an organism because
every cell in the body that contains DNA
has these instructions, which enable the
organism to grow, repair itself, and
reproduce.
DNA Structure
A single DNA molecule is shaped as a
double helix made up of two strands of
nucleotides that are bonded together. Each
nucleotide consists of a nitrogen base, a
sugar (ribose), and a phosphate group. The
same 4 nitrogen bases are used as the
genetic code for every strand of DNA, no
matter which organism it comes from. The
bases and their symbols are adenine (A),
thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C).
The bases on each strand of DNA
are complementary to each other. Adenine
always binds to thymine; guanine always
binds to cytosine.
These bases meet each other at the core of
the DNA helix. The backbone of each
strand is made of the deoxyribose and
phosphate group of each nucleotide. The
number 5 carbon of the ribose is covalently
bonded to the phosphate group of the
nucleotide. The phosphate group of one
nucleotide binds to the number 3 carbon of
the ribose of the next nucleotide. Hydrogen
bonds stabilize the helix shape.
The order of the nitrogenous bases has
meaning, coding for amino acids that are
joined together to make proteins. DNA is
used as a template to make RNA through
a process called transcription. The RNA
uses molecular machinery called
ribosomes, which use the code to make the
amino acids and join them to make
polypeptides and proteins. The process of
making proteins from the RNA template is
called translation.

Structure of RNA
RNA differs from DNA in three aspects.
First, the backbone of RNA contains ribose
rather than 2’-deoxyribose. That is, ribose
has a hydroxyl group at the 2’-position.
Second, RNA contains uracil in place of
thymine. Uracil has the same single-ringed
structure as thymine, except that it lacks the
5’-methyl group. Thymine is in effect 5’-
methyl-uracil. Third, RNA is usually found
as a single polynucleotide chain. Except for
the case of certain viruses, RNA is not the
genetic material and does not need to be
capable of serving as a template for its own
replication.

This slight difference has a powerful effect

on some properties of the RNA molecule,
especially on its stability. For example, RNA
is destroyed under alkaline conditions while
DNA is stable. Although the DNA strands
will separate, they will remain intact and
capable of renaturation when the pH is
lowered again. However, under such
conditions, RNA will quickly be destroyed.

It is usually described as single stranded,

but only because the complementary strand
is not normally made. There is nothing
inherent in the structure of RNA that
prevents it forming a double-stranded
structure: an RNA strand will pair with
(hybridize to) a complementary RNA strand,
or with a complementary strand of DNA.
Even a single strand of RNA will fold back
on itself to form double stranded regions. In
particular, transfer RNA (tRNA), and
ribosomal RNA (rRNA) both form complex
patterns of base-paired regions.

Structural components of RNA

Phosphoric Acid

The molecular formula of phosphoric acid is

H3PO4. It contains 3 monovalent hydroxyl
groups and a divalent oxygen atom, all
linked to the pentavalent phosphorus atom.

Pentose Sugar

It contains D-ribose, hence the name ribose

nucleic acid or ribouncleic acid. This sugars
in nucleic acids are present in the furanose
form and are of β configuration. Ribose
reacts with orcinol in hydrochloric acid
solution containing ferric chloride.

Nitrogenous Bases
Uracil (C4H4O2N2), found in RNA molecules
only, is a white, crystalline pyrimidine base
with MW = 112.10 daltons and a m.p.
338°C.

Cytosine (C4H5ON3), found in both RNA

and DNA, is a white crystalline substance,
with MW = 111.12 daltons and a m.p. 320-
325°C.

Adenine (C5H5N5), found in both RNA and

DNA, is a white crystalline purine base, with
MW = 135.15 daltons and a m.p. 360-
365°C.

Guanine (C5H5ON5), also found in both

RNA and DNA, is a colourless, insoluble
crystalline substance, with MW = 151.15
daltons.
General Characteristics of DNA
Deoxyribose consists of a five-atom ring, four
carbons and an oxygen, shaped like a pentagon
or perhaps home plate in baseball. Because
carbon forms four bonds and oxygen two, this
leaves eight binding sites free on the four
carbon atoms, two per carbon, one above and
one below the ring. Three of these spots are
occupied by hydroxyl (-OH) groups, and five are
claimed by hydrogen atoms.
Deoxyribose bound to a nitrogenous base is
called a nucleoside. When a phosphate group is
added to deoxyribose at the carbon two spots
away from where the base is attached, a
complete nucleotide is formed. The
peculiarities of the respective electrochemical
charges on the various atoms in nucleotides are
responsible for double-stranded DNA naturally
forming a helical shape, and the two DNA
strands in the molecule are
called complementary strands.

General Characteristics of RNA

DNA is concerned only with information
storage only (a gene is simply a strand of DNA
that codes for a single protein), different types
of RNA assume different functions. Messenger
RNA, or mRNA, is made from DNA when the
ordinarily double-stranded DNA splits into two
single strands for the purpose of transcription.
The resulting mRNA ultimately makes its way
toward the parts of cells where protein
manufacture occurs, carrying the instructions
for this process delivered by DNA. A second
type of RNA, transfer RNA (tRNA), takes part in
the manufacture of proteins. This occurs on cell
organelles called ribosomes, and ribosomes
themselves consist chiefly of a third type of
RNA called, aptly, ribosomal RNA (rRNA).
Transcription and Translation
Transcription is the creation of a strand of
mRNA from a DNA template, carrying the same
instructions (i.e., genetic code) for making a
particular protein as the template does. The
process occurs in the cell nucleus, where DNA is
located. When a double-stranded DNA
molecule separates into single strands and
transcription proceeds, the mRNA that is
generated from one strand of the "unzipped"
DNA pair is identical to the DNA of the other
strand of unzipped DNA, except that mRNA
contains U instead of T. (Again, referring to a
diagram is useful; see the References.) The
mRNA, once complete, leaves the nucleus
through pores in the nuclear membrane. After
the mRNA leaves the nucleus, it attaches to a
ribosome.
Enzymes then attach to the ribosomal complex
and assist in the process of translation.
Translation is the conversion of the mRNA's
instruction into proteins. This occurs when
amino acids, the sub-units of proteins, are
generated from three-nucleotide "codons" on
the mRNA strand. The process also involves
rRNA (since translation takes place on
ribosomes) and tRNA (which helps assemble
amino acids).

From DNA Strands to

Chromosomes
While chromosomes may be described as very
long strands of DNA, this is a gross
simplification. It is true that a given
chromosome could, in theory, be unwound to
reveal a single unbroken DNA molecule, but
this fails to indicate the intricate coiling,
spooling and clustering that DNA does enroute
to form a chromosome. One chromosome
features millions of DNA base pairs, and if all
the DNA were stretched out without breaking
the helix, its length would extend from a few
millimeters to over a centimeter. In reality,
DNA is far more condensed. Proteins called
histones form from four pairs of subunit
proteins (eight subunits in all). This octamer
serves as a spool of sorts for the DNA double
helix to wrap itself around twice, like thread.
This structure, the octamer plus the DNA
wrapped around it, is called a nucleosome.
When a chromosome is partially unwound into
a strand called a chromatid, these nucleosomes
appear on microscopy to be beads on a string.
But above the level of nucleosomes, further
compression of the genetic material occurs,
though the precise mechanism remains elusive.
Nucleic Acids and the
Emergence of Life
DNA, RNA and proteins are
considered biopolymers because they are
repeated sequences of information and amino
acids that are associated with living things
("bio"means "life"). Molecular biologists today
recognize that DNA and RNA in some form
predate the emergence of life on Earth, but as
of 2018, no one had figured out the pathway
from early biopolymers to simple living things.
Some have theorized that RNA in some form
was the original source of all of these things,
including DNA. This is the "RNA world
hypothesis." However, this presents a sort of
chicken-and-egg scenario for biologists,
because sufficiently large RNA molecules
seemingly could not have emerged by any
means other than transcription. In any event,
scientists are, with increasing eagerness,
presently investigating RNA as a target for the
first self-replicating molecule.

Medical Therapies
Chemicals that mimic the constituents of
nucleic acids are being used as drugs today,
with further developments in this area
underway. For example, a slightly modified
form of uracil, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), has been
used for decades to treat carcinoma of the
colon. It does this by imitating a true
nitrogenous base closely enough so that it
becomes inserted into newly manufactured
DNA. This ultimately leads to a breakdown in
protein synthesis.
Imitators of nucleosides (which, you may recall,
are a ribose sugar plus a nitrogenous base)
have been used in antibacterial and antiviral
therapies. Sometimes, it is the base portion of
the nucleoside that undergoes modification,
and at other times the drug targets the sugar
portion.

General characteristics of
nucleic acid
1. nucleic acids generally have beta N glycosidic
bond
2. they are polyfunctional acids
3. they absorb ultraviolet light close to 260nm
hence can be quantized
4. they serve diverse physiological functions -
like ATP is a biological transducer of free
energy, cAMP is a second messenger, help in
protein synthesis, UDP helps in carbohydrate
metabolism and detoxification... etc.
5. they have high group transfer potential
especially the nucleotide triphosphates
6. synthetic nucleotides are used for
chemotherapy, for research
7. polynucleotides are directional
macromolecules- like DNA has a 5'and 3' end