What are nucleic acids made of?
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Nucleic acids are long chainlike molecules composed of a series of nearly identical building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogen-containing aromatic base attached to a pentose (five-carbon) sugar, which is in turn attached to a phosphate group.
Are nucleotides and nucleic acids the same?
Nucleotides are one of the main components of nucleic acids while nucleic acids themselves are the building blocks of life. 2. Nucleotides are made up of nucleobase, carbon sugar, and phosphate while nucleic acids are made of polymer macromolecules which are nucleotides in nature.
How are nucleotides made?
Nucleotides are the monomeric units of nucleic acids. A nucleotide is formed from a carbohydrate residue connected to a heterocyclic base by a β-D-glycosidic bond and to a phosphate group at C-5′ (compounds containing the phosphate group at C-3′ are also known).
Are nucleic acids polymers?
A nucleic acid is a polymeric macromolecule made up of repeated units of monomeric ‘nucleotides’ composed of a nitrogenous heterocyclic base which is either a purine or a pyrimidine, a pentose (five carbon) sugar (either ribose or 2′-deoxyribose), and one to three phosphate groups.
How are synthetic nucleotides made?
Because DNA is a polymer made up of four different nucleotide monomers, gene synthesis and DNA assembly methods are in effect a form of hierarchical polymer synthesis. For synthetic DNA, individual phosphoramidite monomers are combined together to create individual oligonucleotides 60–100 nt in length.
How are nucleic acids formed from nucleotides?
Nucleotides can link together by the formation of phosphate ester bonds. The hydroxyl group of a phosphate on one nucleotide undergoes a condensation reaction with the hydroxyl group on the carbohydrate ring of another nucleotide. The process may continue, building up nucleic acid molecules.
How are synthetic primers made?
Synthetic primers are chemically synthesized oligonucleotides, usually of DNA, which can be customized to anneal to a specific site on the template DNA. In solution, the primer spontaneously hybridizes with the template through Watson-Crick base pairing before being extended by DNA polymerase.
How is DNA assembled?
DNA is made of chemical building blocks called nucleotides. These building blocks are made of three parts: a phosphate group, a sugar group and one of four types of nitrogen bases. To form a strand of DNA, nucleotides are linked into chains, with the phosphate and sugar groups alternating.
Where are nucleic acids made?
They are called nucleic acids because scientists first found them in the nucleus of cells. Now that we have better equipment, nucleic acids have been found in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and cells that have no nucleus, such as bacteria and viruses.
What are four examples of nucleic acids?
– Peptidonucleic acid or peptide nucleic acid. It is built from the substitution of the phosphate-ribose bridge (in RNA) or phosphate-deoxyribose (in DNA), with classic peptide bonds of 2- (N-aminoethyl) glycine. – Blocked nucleic acid (morpholino). – Glycolic nucleic acid. – Threosic nucleic acid. – Chemeroplasts.
What are some good examples of nucleic acids?
DNA – contains genetic information for building proteins
Are RNA molecules made of nucleotides?
Unlike double-stranded DNA, RNA is a single-stranded molecule in many of its biological roles and consists of much shorter chains of nucleotides. However, a single RNA molecule can, by complementary base pairing, form intrastrand double helixes, as in tRNA.
What are some facts about nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are responsible for the transmission of inherent characters from parent to offspring.