In this assignment, I got a distinction which was awarded by the teacher and this can be used as a detailed guide on how to get through your assignment. I mainly go through understanding the structure and function of nucleic acid in order to describe gene expression and the process of protein synth...
Nucleic acid are molecules that store information for cellular growth and reproduction.
It is a compound that break down phosphates, sugar and a lot of other things into smaller
monomers. It is the main transport for carrying the molecules and also controls the process of
protein synthesis. They consist of two types: DNA and RNA. The nucleic acid are
polynucleotides this is a long chain molecule made up of smaller blocks called nucleotides
which are the building blocks of nucleic acids, DNA and RNA and the whole process of
protein synthesis. The function of the nucleic acid is to deal with the storage of genetic
information. Another function is they control the inherited characteristics of living things.
The inherited characteristics traits which include hair colour, eye colour, shapes of nose,
usually the inherited characteristics are passed from generation to generation. There are two
types of structure in nucleic acid: the primary structure of nucleic acid and the secondary
structure of a nucleic acid. The primary structure of nucleic acid is the nucleotides sequence
which are joined by a bond called phosphodiester. The secondary structure in DNA are the
two strands of nucleotides that go around each other to form a double helix. The strands are
completely opposite to each other. The bases are arranged in a certain way and the base pairs
are also held together by strong hydrogen bond. The pairing of the bases is also very specific
this is why they form a complimentary base pair because adenine- thymine these are
complimentary base pairs and are joined by two hydrogen bonds. For cytosine and guanine,
they also form a complimentary base pair and there are three hydrogen bonds involved.
Nucleotide is the monomer of a nucleic acid. Nucleic acid is known as it takes place in all
organisms in earth. The nucleotides of nucleic acids are joined together by covalent bonds.
The DNA and the RNA are the polymer. The nucleotides are the monomers. Monomer is a
long chain of units that make up the polymer. The polymers which are DNA and RNA are
formed by a condensation reaction which are made by a long chain of nucleotides. The
condensation reaction is a chemical reaction that happens when two molecules bind together
to take out water molecule. Nucleotides consist of a 5-carbon sugar called pentose, a
phosphate and a base.
Here is how they join together. For DNA this a deoxyribose sugar And for RNA this is a
ribose sugar.
Base
phosphate
Sugar
the base consists of adenine, thymine and guanine for DNA and for RNA the thymine is
swapped with uracil. Adenine bonds with thymine, guanine pairs with cytosine for DNA and
for the RNA it is the same, but the thymine is swapped with uracil. A base will only form a
, bond with another base that is complimentary which is called complimentary base pairing.
The nitrogenous base structure for adenine and thymine is a double ring structure which
forms a purine. For thymine guanine and uracil, they have a single ring structure called a
pyrimidine. They are two linked pentose sugar RNA contains ribose and DNA contain
deoxyribose. The difference between them in DNA there is no oxygen bonded to the carbon
compare to RNA where it is bonded with the carbon as this is diagram show you.
No oxygen is bonded to this carbon
Deoxyribose Ribose
Extra phosphates groups can be added to form diphosphate and triphosphate this need
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is an energy source which carry out most of this cellular
activity which needs a lot of energy. This is an enzyme which carries chemical energy in the
cell for metabolism (which is an instruction which happens in a chemical reaction in
organisms which switch food into energy). The body need this energy to do simple things like
move to talk to think and also need it to grow. The chemical reaction in metabolism is
regulated by specific protein and that is why the correct protein synthesis is needed otherwise
it can cause many problems. The structure for the sugar and the phosphate is called a sugar
phosphate and it described as a back-bone. The polymer of DNA and the RNA can be
reversed by hydrolysis. Hydrolysis is the breakdown of the compound due to the reaction of
water. Hydrogen bond happens between the bases the reason for this is the two
polynucleotide strands loop around to form a double helix for DNA.
In eukaryotic cell DNA Is put away in the nucleus and it is divided from the rest of the cell by
a semipermeable membrane. The DNA is arranged into chromosomes during cell replication.
During replication the DNA is stored into a dense structure which is a round sphere called the
chromatin and is enveloped around proteins called histones that form nucleolus. When a
eukaryotic cell divides the process is called mitosis. The cell splits into two identical daughter
cells the DNA must be replicated so that each daughter cell has a copy. DNA replication is a
step-by-step procedure that led to a process. First the DNA must be uncoiled dividing the two
strands. the single strands act as a template or a model for the synthesis of the new strands
which are complimentary in term of structure to the new sequence. Bases are added one at a
time till two new DNA that exactly duplicate the original DNA is made. The process is called
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