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Nucleic Acids

Proteins are complicated molecules that pretty much determine how organisms are made and what goes on in their bodies or cells.  Nucleic Acids are the molecules that store the information needed to make all of those complicated proteins.

  • They are made of C, H, O, N, and P

  • The monomers are called Nucleotides, and they are also made of smaller subunits:

    • Phosphate​

    • 5 Carbon Sugar

    • Nitrogen Base

  • DNA stores information in the nucleus

  • RNA uses information to build proteins in the ribosomes

DNA

DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA) is a long double-stranded molecule with nucleotides on either side that bind to their complementary base in the middle, but are oriented in different directions. 

  • A full molecule of DNA twists into a shape called a Double Helix - basically a twisted ladder

  • The backbone is made of repeating phosphates and sugars (deoxyribose)

    • they are connected with strong covalent bonds.

    • they must keep the bases in the same order so that information isn't messed up​​

  • The ​"rungs" of the ladder are the bases

    • The bases ARE the information​

    • There are four different bases that act like letters which combine to make words.

      • Adenine (A)​

      • Guanine (G)

      • Cytosine (C)

      • Thymine (T)

    • The bases form weak hydrogen bonds between them so that they can be easily opened, read, and put back together without damaging the molecule.​

      • A always binds with T​

      • G always binds with C​

DNA also has different names depending on how much you are talking about.  Find out more about DNA Levels.​​​

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RNA

RiboNucleic Acid (RNA) is a single stranded molecule that is used in the process of making the proteins that the DNA codes for.

  • Structurally, RNA is a little different from DNA.  RNA...

    • Is Single Stranded​

    • Uses the base Uracil (U) instead of Thymine (T), but it still has A, C, and G

    • The 5 Carbon Sugar is Ribose 

    • Is shorter - usually 100s of nucleotides long instead of millions of bp like DNA

  • There are also different kinds of RNA​

    • mRNA - messenger RNA - copies info from DNA and goes out of the nucleus​

    • tRNA - transfer RNA - connects to specific amino acids and brings them into the ribosome to make proteins

    • rRNA - ribosomal RNA - RNA inside a ribosome that helps to connect the amino acids

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