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Bio-Chemistry
Nucleic Acids
Nucleic Acids are part of the genetic code that are found in all organism's-it's what gives each organism a specific identity, all with the combination of a few bases! Nucleic acids enable organisms to store and to reproduce their components from one generation to the next. Nucleic Acids are made up of Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and/or Phosphate.
Monomer form: Nucleotides
Polymer form: DNA, RNA
There are two kinds of Nucleic acids =
1) Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA)-used for replication, double stranded
2) Ribose Nucleic Acid (RNA)-controls protein synthesis, single stranded
Nucleotide Parts
Nucleotides are made out of 3 parts:
1) 5-carbon (Pentose) sugar
2) Phosphate group
3) Nitrogen Base (can be Guanine, Cytosine, Adenine, or Thymine)
Look at the picture to the left to see the specific parts of a nucleotide!
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When it is stated hat DNA is antiparalled, such reference refers to the two-sugar phosphate backbone, whom run in the opposite 5'→3' direction; this direction is anitparallel.
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