B I O M O L E C U L E S

The Nucleic
Acids
 Nucleic Acids
M A D E UP O F :
- Carbon - Phosphorus Atoms
- Hydrogen
- Oxygen
- Nitrogen

Nucleic acids store and transfer cellular

information and transfer energy in all
living organisms. Nucleic acids are made
of small repeating units or building blocks
called nucleotides.
 Monomers

Nucleic
acids are
composed
of nucleotide
monomers link
ed together.
• Each nucleotide includes one
nitrogenous base, attached to
the 1’ carbon of the sugar.
• A nitrogenous base is an
organic molecule containing
both carbon and nitrogen
atoms.
• Nitrogenous bases contain
either one ring or two fused
rings.
- Purines are double-ring
nitrogenous bases found in nature
(Adenine & Guanine)

- Pyrimidines are single-ring

nitrogenous bases found in nature
(Thymine, Cytosine & Uracil)
Only two 5-carbon sugars are
found in nature: ribose and
deoxyribose.
• In DNA, the five-carbon
sugar is deoxyribose,
while ribose is the pentose
sugar in RNA.

A phosphate group is
attached to the 5’ carbon
position, the carbon atom that
is outside the sugar ring.
POLYMERS
 DNA
• DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC
ACID
• DNA stores hereditary
Nucleic Acids information in small
Two types of
segments
called genes inside long
chains.

RNA
• RIBONUCLEIC ACID
• RNA polymers perform a
variety of cellular functions,
including delivering DNA
messages to synthesize
proteins and acting as
enzymes or regulatory
molecules in many cellular
processes.
STRUCTURE Nucleotides are linked together to form polynucleotide
OF NUCLEIC chains. They are joined to one another by covalent
bonds between the phosphate of one and the sugar of
ACIDS another. These linkages are called phosphodiester
linkages. Phosphodiester linkages form the sugar-
phosphate backbone of both DNA and RNA.

Similar to what happens

with protein and carbohydrate monomers, nucleotides
are linked together through dehydration synthesis. In
nucleic acid dehydration synthesis, nitrogenous bases
are joined together and a water molecule is lost in the
process.
DNA STRUCTURE
• DNA is composed of a phosphate-deoxyribose
sugar backbone and the four nitrogenous
bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C),
and thymine (T).
• In double stranded DNA, adenine pairs with
thymine (A-T) and guanine pairs with cytosine
(G-C).

Structurally, nitrogenous bases in a polymer tend to

pair in an anti-parallel pattern, meaning that two
paired strands of nucleic acid sit in opposite
directions. If one strand is viewed from the 5’ end
towards the 3’ end, the other strand is sitting 3’ to 5’
in order to form the maximum number of hydrogen
bonds. The nucleotide pairs on opposing strands
that form hydrogen bonds are frequently called base
pairs. In DNA, polymers are almost exclusively found
in long, paired anti-parallel strands forming the
famous double helix.
RNA STRUCTURE
• RNA most commonly exists as a single stranded
molecule composed of a phosphate-ribose sugar
backbone and the nitrogenous bases adenine,
guanine, cytosine and uracil (U).
• When DNA is transcribed into an RNA transcript
during DNA transcription, guanine pairs with
cytosine (G-C) and adenine pairs with uracil (A-U).

• Many single-stranded RNA molecules bend and twist

into a three-dimensional structure that includes
some hydrogen bonding between nucleotides in the
same strand.
• As with protein structure, the three-dimensional
structure of an RNA molecule specifies a unique
function in cells, including enzyme catalysis.
 DNA
• Nitrogenous Bases: Adenine,
Guanine, Cytosine, and
Thymine
• Five-Carbon
Sugar: Deoxyribose
• Structure: Double-stranded
DNA is commonly found in its
three dimensional, double helix
shape. This twisted structure
makes it possible for DNA to
unwind for DNA replication and
protein synthesis.
RNA
• Nitrogenous Bases: Adenine,
Guanine, Cytosine, and Uracil
• Five-Carbon Sugar: Ribose
• Structure: Single-stranded
While RNA does not take on a double
helix shape like DNA, this molecule is
able to form complex three dimensional
shapes. This is possible because RNA
bases form complementary pairs with
other bases on the same RNA strand.
The base pairing causes RNA to fold
forming various shapes.