- Download PDF
2 Answers | Add Yours
Nucleic acids are a type of polymers (macromolecules). Nucleic acids may be the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) or RNA (ribonucleic acid). The DNA stores genetic information while RNA translates this information into proteins.
The building blocks of nucleic acids are called nucleotides. These are organic molecules composed of a base, a five-membered carbon ring (sugar), and a phosphate group. The bases that comprise monomers of the DNA are adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and Thymine (T). For RNA's, Thymine is replaced by Uracil (U), and the rest are the same.
The sugar is either deoxyribose for DNA or ribose for RNA. A base bound to the sugar is called a nucleoside.
The nucleoside then is bound to a triphosphate group to create the nucleotide, which are the monomers, or the repeating units for the nucleic acids.
Nucleic acids are one of the four macromolecules in biology. They are composed of three different parts: a sugar, one of four bases, and a phosphate.
The sugar differs on whether or not the nucleic acid is for DNA or RNA. The sugar for DNA is deoxyribose, while the sugar for RNA is ribose.
There are four different bases for DNA and four for RNA. ATGC is for DNA, and AUGC is for RNA. AT/AU pair together, while GC pair together.
We’ve answered 327,688 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question