Chapter 4- Flow of genetic information Flashcards
Double helix
A helical structure that consists of two complementary nucleic acid strands. This is the form of DNA
Why are nucleic acids suited to their function?
They are carriers of genetic information due to their covalent structure
Nucleotide
The monomer unit in the nucleic acid polymer. Nucleotides consists of 3 components- a sugar, a phosphate, and a base. It is a nucleoside joined to one or more phosphoryl groups by an ester linkage.
Nucleic acid base sequence
The base sequence characterizes the nucleic acid and is a form of linear information
Ribose
The sugar found in RNA. An oxygen atom is bound to the 2’ carbon.
Deoxyribose
The sugar found in DNA. The 2’ carbon atom of the sugar lacks the oxygen atom
Phosphodiester bridges
The hydroxyl (3’-OH) group of the sugar on one nucleotide is esterified to a phosphate group, which is bound to the 5’ hydroxyl group of the next sugar. This forms the backbone of the nucleic acid. Each phosphodiester bridge has a negative charge
Backbone of the nucleic acid
The chain of sugars linked by phosphodiester bridges
Purine
Adenine (A) and guanine (G) are purine derivatives. Purines are longer than pyrimidines because they have a two ring structure. The nitrogen on the 9th carbon (second ring) forms a bond with the sugar
Pyrimidine
Cytosine (C) and Thymine (T) are pyrimidine derivatives. Uracil in RNA is also a pyrimidine. They have a single ring structure. The first nitrogen at the bottom of the ring forms a bond with sugar
How does the covalent structure of RNA differ from that of DNA?
RNA contains ribose rather than deoxyribose. RNA also contains uracil instead of thymine
Why are phosphodiester bridges important to the integrity of DNA?
Each bridge has a negative charge. The negative charge repeals nucleophilic species like hydroxide ions. These ions can launch a hydrolytic attack on the phosphate backbone. This resistance is crucial for maintaining the integrity of information stored in nucleic acids
Why is DNA likely used as the hereditary material of cells?
The absence of the 2’ hydroxyl group in DNA increases its resistance to hydrolysis. Also, DNA is more stable than RNA
Nucleoside
A unit consisting of a base bonded to a sugar. There are 4 nucleoside units in RNA and 4 in DNA
4 nucleoside units in RNA
Adenosine, guanosine, cytidine, and uridine
4 nucleoside units in DNA
Deoxyadenosine, deoxyguanosine, deoxycytidine, and thymidine (thymine nucleosides are rarely found in RNA so by convention the deoxy- prefix is not added)
N-beta-glycosidic linkage
The N-9 of a purine or N-1 of a pyrimidine is attached to C-1 of the sugar. It links the base to the sugar in a nucleoside
Nucleoside triphosphates
Nucleosides joined to 3 phosphoryl groups- the precursors that form RNA and DNA. There are 4 for DNA and 4 for RNA
4 nucleotide units of DNA
The 4 nucleotide units of DNA are deoxyadenylate, deoxyguanylate, deoxycytidylate, and thymidylate
4 nucleotide units of RNA
Adenylate, guanylate, cytidylate, and uridylate
Naming system for nucleotides
The number of phosphoryl groups and the attachment site are designated (ATP is adenosine 5’-triphosphate)
How long are DNA molecules?
A DNA molecule has to be made up of many nucleotides to carry the genetic information that is necessary for the organism. The E. coli genome is a single DNA molecule which consists of two strands of 4.6 million nucleotides each. The human genome has 3 billion nucleotides in each strand of DNA
DNA abbreviations
pApCpG denotes a trinucleotide of DNA that consists of deoxyadenylate, deoxycytidylate, and deoxyguanylate linked by two phosphodiester bridges- the p denotes a phosphoryl group
DNA chain directionality
One end of the chain has a free 5’-OH group or a 5’-OH group attached to a phosphoryl group. The other end has a free 3’-OH group. The sequences are typically written from the 5’ to 3’ direction by convention