BISC207 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Phosphodiester Bond, Cell Nucleus, Nitrogenous Base

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Biological Sciences
• Course: BISC207
• Professor: Nauen Jennifer

Document Summary

Deoxyribonucleic acid (dna)- stores genetic information and is replicated using proteins. Ribonucleic acid (rna)- both stored the genetic information and catalyzed its own replication. Nucleic acids are polymers but instead are assembled by nucleotides. Three components of a nucleotide: a phosphate group, five-carbon sugar, a nitrogenous base. Sugar difference between rna and dna is that there is one less o in the 2" carbon. Ribonucleotides are the monomers of ribonucleic acids and deoxyribonucleotides are the monomers of deoxyribonucleic acids nucleotide. Phosphodiester linkage- a molecule of water is released, connects monomers in nucleic acids. Nucleotides are added only at the 3" end of a growing molecule. The sequence of bases found in an rna or dna strand is always written in the 5" 3" direction. The polymerization reactions that join nucleotides into nucleic acids are catalyzed by enzymes. Proteins have a peptide-bonded backbone with a series of r-groups that extend from it.