Table of Contents
What is a chain of nucleotides called?
Nucleotides are the building blocks of polymers called polynucleotides. The simplest of the polynucleotides is a single chain in which the pentose sugar is always ribose. The name of this polynucleotide comes from the sugar ribonucleic acid, abbreviated to the three letters RNA.
What is a chain of nucleic acids called?
A nucleic acid is an organic compound, such as DNA or RNA, that is built of monomers called nucleotides. Many nucleotides bind together to form a chain called a polynucleotide. The nucleic acid DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) consists of two polynucleotide chains.
What produces a chain of nucleotides?
Nucleotides are obtained in the diet and are also synthesized from common nutrients by the liver. Nucleotides are composed of three subunit molecules: a nucleobase, a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and a phosphate group consisting of one to three phosphates.
How are nucleotides chained together?
Nucleotides are joined together through the phosphate group of one nucleotide connecting in an ester linkage to the OH group on the third carbon atom of the sugar unit of a second nucleotide. The backbone of the chain consists of alternating phosphate and sugar units (2-deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA).
What is structure of nucleotide?
A nucleotide consists of a sugar molecule (either ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA) attached to a phosphate group and a nitrogen-containing base. The bases used in DNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T).
How many chains are there in DNA?
A DNA molecule consists of two long polynucleotide chains composed of four types of nucleotide subunits. Each of these chains is known as a DNA chain, or a DNA strand. Hydrogen bonds between the base portions of the nucleotides hold the two chains together (Figure 4-3).
What do you mean by polynucleotides?
polynucleotide. / (ˌpɒlɪˈnjuːklɪəˌtaɪd) / noun. biochem a molecular chain of nucleotides chemically bonded by a series of ester linkages between the phosphoryl group of one nucleotide and the hydroxyl group of the sugar in the adjacent nucleotide. Nucleic acids consist of long chains of polynucleotides.
How do you identify nucleotides?
Nucleotides
- Nucleotides are the building blocks of RNA and DNA.
- They are formed from a 5-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous pyrimidine or purine base.
- To identify a nucleotide, look for the sugar-phosphate portion linked to a complex ring containing nitrogen atoms in the ring.
Why does DNA use thymine?
Explanation: DNA uses thymine instead of uracil because thymine has greater resistance to photochemical mutation, making the genetic message more stable. This is necessary for holding all of the information needed for life to function.
What are long chains of nucleotides called?
A long strand of nucleotides put together in this way is called a polynucleotide strand (poly meaning many). Because of the way the chemical structures are numbered, DNA has numbered “ends.” The phosphate end is referred to as the 5′ (5-prime) end, and the sugar end is referred to as the 3′ (3-prime) end.
How many chains of nucleotides are in a DNA molecule?
Deoxyribonucleic acid ( / diːˈɒksɪˌraɪboʊnjuːˌkliːɪk, – ˌkleɪ -/ ( listen); DNA) is a molecule composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses.
What are the building blocks of nucleotides?
Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids ; they are composed of three sub unit molecules: a nitrogenous base (also known as nucleobase), a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and at least one phosphate group.
What are the four nucleotides?
Nucleotides are composed of three subunit molecules: a nucleobase, a five-carbon sugar ( ribose or deoxyribose ), and a phosphate group consisting of one to three phosphates. The four nucleobases in DNA are guanine, adenine, cytosine and thymine; in RNA, uracil is used in place of thymine.