A nucleic acid is a macromolecule composed of chains of monomeric nucleotides.

In biochemistry these molecules carry genetic information or form structures within cells. Types of nucleic

Ribonucleic acid
Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, is a nucleic acid polymer consisting of nucleotide monomers, which plays several important roles in the processes of transcribing genetic information from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into proteins. RNA acts as a messenger between DNA and the protein synthesis complexes known as ribosomes, forms vital portions of ribosomes, and serves as an essential carrier molecule for amino acids to be used in protein synthesis. The three types of RNA include tRNA (transfer), mRNA (messenger) and rRNA (ribosomal).

Deoxyribonucleic acid
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information and DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information. DNA is made of four types of nucleotides, containing different nucleobases: the pyrimidines cytosine and thymine, and the purines guanine and adenine. The nucleotides are attached to each other in a chain by bonds between their sugar and phosphate groups, forming a sugar-phosphate backbone. Two of these chains are held together by hydrogen bonding between complementary bases; the chains coil around each other, forming the DNA double helix. Nucleotides are molecules that, when joined together, make up the structural units of RNA and DNA. In addition, nucleotides play central roles in metabolism. In that capacity, they serve as sources of chemical energy (adenosine triphosphate and guanosine triphosphate), participate in cellular signaling (cyclic guanosine monophosphate and cyclic adenosine monophosphate), and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions (coenzyme A, flavin adenine dinucleotide, flavin mononucleotide, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate).[1]

formation A nucleotide is composed of a nucleobase (nitrogenous base), a five-carbon sugar (either ribose or 2'-deoxyribose), and one to three phosphate groups. Together, the nucleobase and sugar comprise a nucleoside. The phosphate groups form bonds with either the 2, 3, or 5-carbon of the sugar, with the 5-carbon site most common. Cyclic nucleotides form when the phosphate group is bound to two of the sugar's hydroxyl groups.[1] Ribonucleotides are nucleotides where the sugar is ribose, and deoxyribonucleotides contain the sugar deoxyribose. Nucleotides can contain either a purine or pyrimidine base. naming Code A C G T or U M R W S Y K V H D B X or N Equivalence Complement A T or U C G G C T A A or C K A or G Y A or T W C or G S C or T R G or T M A or C or G B A or C or T D A or G or T H C or G or T V A or C or G or T X

Nucleotide names are abbreviated into standard three or four-letter codes.

the term "double helix" is commonly encountered in molecular biology, where it refers to the structure of DNA. The double-helix model of DNA structure was first published in the journal Nature by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in 1953[2], based upon the crucial X-ray diffraction image of DNA (labeled as "Photo 51") from Rosalind Franklin in 1952 [3], followed by her more clarified DNA image with Raymond Gosling[4][5], Maurice Wilkins, Alexander Stokes and Herbert Wilson[6], as well as base-pairing chemical and biochemical information by Erwin Chargaff[

The DNA double helix is a right-handed spiral polymer of nucleic acids, held together by nucleotides which base pair together[14]. A single turn of the helix constitutes ten nucleotides[14]. The double helix structure of DNA contains a major groove and minor groove, the major groove being wider than the minor groove[14]. Given the difference in widths of the major groove and minor groove, many proteins which bind to DNA do so through the wider major groove [15]. The order, or sequence, of the nucleotides in the double helix within a gene specifies the primary structure of a protein.

DNA replication, the basis for biological inheritance, is a fundamental process occurring in all living organisms to copy their DNA. This process is "replication" in that each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template for the reproduction of the complementary strand. Hence, following DNA replication, two identical DNA molecules have been produced from a single double-stranded DNA molecule. Cellular proofreading and error-checking mechanisms ensure near perfect fidelity for DNA replication.[1][2] In a cell, DNA replication begins at specific locations in the genome, called "origins".[3] Unwinding of DNA at the origin, and synthesis of new strands, forms a replication fork. In addition to DNA polymerase, the enzyme that synthesizes the new DNA by adding nucleotides matched to the template strand, a number of other proteins are associated with the fork and assist in the initiation and continuation of DNA synthesis. DNA replication can also be performed in vitro (outside a cell). DNA polymerases, isolated from cells, and artificial DNA primers are used to initiate DNA synthesis at known sequences in a template molecule. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a common laboratory technique, employs such artificial synthesis in a cyclic manner to amplify a specific target DNA fragment from a pool of DNA. Protein synthesis is the process in which cells build proteins. The term is sometimes used to refer only to protein translation but more often it refers to a multi-step process, beginning with amino acid synthesis and transcription of nuclear DNA into messenger RNA which is then used as input to translation. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate. RNA is very similar to DNA, but differs in a few important structural details: in the cell, RNA is usually single-stranded, while DNA is usually double-stranded; RNA nucleotides contain ribose while DNA contains deoxyribose (a type of ribose that lacks one oxygen atom); and RNA has the base uracil rather than thymine that is present in DNA.

function Messenger RNA mRNA Codes for protein Ribosomal RNA rRNA Translation Signal recognition particle RNA 7SL RNA or SRP RNA Membrane integration Transfer RNA tRNA Translation Transfer-messenger RNA tmRNA Rescuing stalled ribosomes Synthesis of RNA is usually catalyzed by an enzymeRNA polymeraseusing DNA as a template, a process known as transcription. Initiation of transcription begins with the binding of the enzyme to a promoter sequence in the DNA (usually found "upstream" of a gene). The DNA double helix is unwound by the helicase activity of the enzyme. The enzyme then progresses along the template strand in the 3 to 5 direction, synthesizing a complementary RNA molecule with elongation occurring in the 5 to 3 direction. The DNA sequence also dictates where termination of RNA synthesis will occur.

The genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material (DNA or mRNA sequences) is translated into proteins (amino acid sequences) by living cells. The code defines a mapping between tri-nucleotide sequences, called codons, and amino acids. Transfer RNA (abbreviated tRNA) is a small RNA molecule (usually about 74-95 nucleotides) that transfers a specific active amino acid to a growing polypeptide chain at the ribosomal site of protein synthesis during translation. It has a 3' terminal site for amino acid attachment. This covalent linkage is catalyzed by an aminoacyl tRNA synthetase. It also contains a three base region called the anticodon that can base pair to the corresponding three base codon region on mRNA. Each type of tRNA molecule can be attached to only one type of amino acid, but because the genetic code contains multiple codons that specify the same amino acid, tRNA molecules bearing different anticodons may also carry the same amino acid. An anticodon[1] is a unit made up of three nucleotides that correspond to the three bases of the codon on the mRNA. Each tRNA contains a specific anticodon triplet sequence that can base-pair to one or more codons for an amino acid. For example, one codon for lysine is AAA; the anticodon of a lysine tRNA might be UUU.

The synthesis of proteins is known as translation. Translation occurs in the cytoplasm where the ribosomes are located. Ribosomes are made of a small and large subunit which surrounds the mRNA. In translation, messenger RNA (mRNA) is decoded to produce a specific polypeptide according to the rules specified by the trinucleotide genetic code. This uses an mRNA sequence as a template to guide the synthesis of a chain of amino

acids that form a protein. Translation proceeds in four phases: activation, initiation, elongation and termination (all describing the growth of the amino acid chain, or polypeptide that is the product of translation). Translation is the process of converting the mRNA codon sequences into an amino acid polypeptide chain. 1. Initiation - A ribosome attaches to the mRNA and starts to code at the FMet codon (usually AUG, sometimes GUG or UUG). 2. Elongation - tRNA brings the corresponding amino acid (which has an anticodon that identifies the amino acid as the corresponding molecule to a codon) to each codon as the ribosome moves down the mRNA strand. 3. Termination - Reading of the final mRNA codon (aka the STOP codon), which ends the synthesis of the peptide chain and releases it. Mutations are changes in the DNA sequence of a cell's genome and are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic chemicals, as well as errors that occur during meiosis or DNA replication.[1][2][3] They can also be induced by the organism itself, by cellular processes such as hypermutation. Mutation can result in several different types of change in DNA sequences; these can either have no effect, alter the product of a gene, or prevent the gene from functioning. A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes Marfan syndrome (also called Marfan's syndrome) is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. Sickle-cell disease, or sickle-cell anaemia (or drepanocytosis), is a genetic life-long blood disorder characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Cystic fibrosis (also known as CF or mucoviscidosis) is a common hereditary disease which affects the entire body, causing progressive disability and often, early death. Tay-Sachs disease -a relentless deterioration of mental and physical abilities which commences at 6 months of age and usually results in death by the age of four.[1] Galactosemia is a rare genetic metabolic disorder that affects an individual's ability to metabolize the sugar galactose properly Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized by a deficiency in the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH).

U UUU Phenylalanine (Phe) UUC Phe U UUA Leucine (Leu) UUG Leu CUU Leucine (Leu) C CUC Leu CUA Leu CUG Leu AUU Isoleucine (Ile) AUC Ile A AUA Ile

Second nucleotide C A UCU Serine UAU Tyrosine (Ser) (Tyr) UCC Ser UAC Tyr UCA Ser UAA STOP UCG Ser CCU Proline (Pro) CCC Pro UAG STOP

CAU Histidine (His) CAC His CAA Glutamine CCA Pro (Gln) CCG Pro CAG Gln ACU Threonine AAU Asparagine (Thr) (Asn) ACC Thr AAC Asn ACA Thr

G UGU Cysteine (Cys) UGC Cys UGA STOP UGG Tryptophan (Trp) CGU Arginine (Arg) CGC Arg CGA Arg CGG Arg

U C A G U C A G

AGU Serine (Ser) U C A G U C A G

AGC Ser AGA Arginine AAA Lysine (Lys) (Arg) AAG Lys GAU Aspartic acid (Asp) GAC Asp GAA Glutamic acid (Glu) GAG Glu AGG Arg GGU Glycine (Gly) GGC Gly GGA Gly GGG Gly

AUG Methionine (Met) ACG Thr or START GCU Alanine GUU Valine Val (Ala) GUC (Val) GCC Ala GUA Val GUG Val GCA Ala GCG Ala