Introduction to Nucleic Acids

https://sciencenotes.org/

Certainly! Nucleic acids are complex macromolecules that play a crucial role in the storage and transmission of genetic information in living organisms. There are two main types of nucleic acids: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).

Structure of Nucleotide: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/

A nucleotide is the basic building block of nucleic acids, composed of three main components:

1. Phosphate Group (PO₄³⁻): The phosphate group is a negatively charged ion that provides a backbone for the nucleotide chain. It links to the sugar molecule through a phosphoester bond.
2. Sugar Molecule:
• In DNA, the sugar is deoxyribose, hence the name deoxyribonucleic acid.
• In RNA, the sugar is ribose.
3. Nitrogenous Base:
• There are four types of nitrogenous bases in DNA: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G).
• In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil (U), so the bases are adenine (A), uracil (U), cytosine (C), and guanine (G).

DNA Nucleotide Structure:

• Deoxyribose sugar.
• Phosphate group.
• Adenine, thymine, cytosine, or guanine as the nitrogenous base.

RNA Nucleotide Structure:

• Ribose sugar.
• Phosphate group.
• Adenine, uracil, cytosine, or guanine as the nitrogenous base.

Bonding in Nucleotides:

• The sugar and phosphate group form the backbone of the nucleotide through phosphodiester bonds.
• The nitrogenous bases are connected to the sugar molecule through glycosidic bonds.

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