The major difference between dna and rna lies in their structure and function. It is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. Dna structure and function travers 2015 the febs journal. These compounds are responsible for cell reproduction and production of proteins necessary for life. In fact right depicted in front of us, we have two strands of dna forming a double helix, and we can look at the telltale signs that this is dna. Read and learn for free about the following article. Both ppts are editable and so are the notes so that you can add in more information or take out information to fit your grade level.
Dna bases pair up with each other, a with t and c with g, to form units called base pairs. As per the dna structure, the dna consists of two chains of the polynucleotide, each in the form of a spherical spiral. The structure and function of these molecules is determined by nucleotide sequences in dna. Before we delve into the differences, we take a look at these two nucleic acids sidebyside. This is a comparison of the differences between dna versus rna, including a quick summary and.
Rna, complex compound of high molecular weight that functions in cellular protein synthesis and replaces dna as a carrier of genetic codes in some viruses. Early in the 1950s, dna was first examined by xray diffraction analysis, a technique for determining the threedimensional atomic structure of a. Like dna, rna is a linear polymer made of four different types of nucleotide subunits. Describe the three kinds of rna and construct a pictorial representation. It was hoped that knowledge of the structure would reveal how dna carries the genetic messages. As we shall see in this chapter, there are in fact vari. When these monomers combine, the resulting chain is called a polynucleotide poly. Rna dna structure and function are critical elements in so many fields of study including virology, medicine, forensic analysis, and genetics. Transcription is the synthesis of rna using dna as a template. The term antisense is also used in wider prospective for any sequence or strand of dna or rna which is complementary to mrna. The information encoded by dna is both digital the precise base specifying, for example, amino acid sequences and analogue. Definition, structure, and discovery 1 deoxyribonucleic aci d or dna i s a mol ecul e t hat cont ai ns t he i nst ruct i ons an organism needs to devel op, l i ve and reproduce. Most catalytic and functional roles in the body are carried out by peptides, proteins and rna.
Dna structure and function 1 dna structure and function. While each of these compounds carries information coded by genes, they differ in a number of ways. The central role of the ribose ring puckers that differ in. Dna and rna are the genetic material that is found in every living cell. Dna was in the nucleus but proteins were made in the cytoplasm 2. The tendency of complementary strands of dna to form double. Note the difference in groove width and the relative displacements of the base pairs from the central axis. Both dna and rna are made from nucleotides, each containing a five carbon. While, dna has a doublestranded helix structure, rna has a singlestranded structure. Both dna and rna are made from nucleotides, each containing a fivecarbon.
Early evidence suggesting an rna intermediate between dna and proteins 1. Structures of nucleic acids some genomes are rna some viruses have rna genomes. This information is stored in the form of long polymer chains. For nucleic acids, tertiary structure refers to the overall threedimensional shape. Pdf the proposal of a doublehelical structure for dna over 60 years ago provided an eminently.
Dna structure, rna structure molecular biology basic dna, rna structure, chargaff rule, nucleic acids, atp, watson and crick model, types of dna a dna, b dna. It codes for your hair color, eye color, how tall you can be, and how much you will weight. Pdf the structure and replication of dna, and transcription of rna. When an rna molecule has been produced, it removes from the dna strand on which it was formed. The structure and function of dna molecular biology of. Function of rna dna has only one kind of function storing genetic information. Describe the primary structure of dna and rna and secondary and. Although dna and rna both carry genetic information, there are quite a few differences between them. The genetic functions of dna can thus be understood as the. What is rna and dna structure and function chegg tutors. Weve already payed a lot of attention to the molecular structure of dna. With the discovery of the molecular structure of the dna. Dna structure and function of deoxyribonucleic acid dna. The chemical structure of rna is very similar to that of dna, but differs in three primary ways.
Proteins within a cell have many functions, including building cellular structures and serving as enzyme catalysts for cellular chemical reactions that give cells their specific characteristics. Describe the structure of nucleic acids and the types of molecules that contain them. The revelation that genes are made of dna in other words. Rna dna 1 single stranded mainly except when self complementary sequences are there it forms a double stranded structure hair pin structure double stranded except for certain viral dna s which are single stranded 2 ribose is the main sugar the sugar moiety is deoxy ribose 3 pyrimidine components differ. Dna and rna are polymers made of monomeric subunits, called nucleotides, which can be linked together in any order.
From dna to rna molecular biology of the cell ncbi bookshelf. Rna or ribonucleic acid is a polymer of nucleotides which is made up of a ribose sugar, a phosphate, and bases such as adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. However, a single rna molecule can, by complementary base pairing, form intrastrand double helixes, as in trna. Ppt dna structure and function powerpoint presentation. Dna and rna introduction to chemistry lumen learning. They carry the genetic blueprint of a cell and carry instructions for the functioning of the cell. Dna is metabolically and chemically more stable than rna. Dna is the genetic material found in all living organisms, ranging from singlecelled. Each base is also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule. Dna stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, while rna is ribonucleic acid. Rna polymerase is the enzyme which catalyzes the reaction. Pdf eukaryote cell homeostasis, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis are integral to the biochemical pathways and metabolic functions.
This fundamental difference between dna and rna follows directly from their chemical structures. Structure and function of genes and chromosomes 19 a hydrogen bonds c c t c 5 5 3 3 3. Like dna replication, this begins with the transient formation of a. Left, a twodimensional representation of the two complementary strands of dna, showing the at and gc base pairs. We argue that, in addition to its coding function, the ability of dna, unlike rna, to adopt a bdna structure confers advan tages both for information accessibility. The structure of rna differences between rna and dna. Dnas staircase structure allows for easy increases in length. Dna, rna, and 3 protein e arly geneticists studied the transmission of characters from parents to offspring, but they did not know the underlying chemical mechanisms. Dna was known to be a long polymer composed of only four types of subunits, which resemble one another chemically. The doublestranded structure of dna also provides an elegant way to easily replicate it. Rna synthesis in the nucleus was exported to the cytoplasm. These distinctions enable the two molecules to work together and fulfil their essential roles. In fact, the formation of peptide bonds, essential for the synthesis of proteins, is catalyzed by rna.
Their main function is to maintain and transmit the genetic code. Strings of nucleotides are bonded to form helical backbonestypically, one for rna, two for dna and assembled into chains of base. The hemoglobin tetramertwo dimers combine to form the complete hemoglobin molecule. Note that the orientation of the two strands is antiparallel. It takes a very difficult concept protein synthesis and makes it funeasy to learn. Chapter 2 structures of nucleic acids nucleic acids.
Nucleic acids are the most important macromolecules for the continuity of life. Cells access the information stored in dna by creating rna to direct the synthesis of proteins through the process of translation. Dna is the biological blueprint that makes you, you. We argue that, in addition to its coding function, the ability of dna, unlike rna, to adopt a b. The discovery that dna is the prime genetic molecule, carrying all the hereditary information within chromosomes, immediately had its attention focused on its structure. Dna is made up of long chains of nucleotides, while rna is made up of shorter chains of nucleotides. Rna structure, function, synthesis, types and interference. The nucleotide is the basic, repeated unit of dna or rna strand and contains a nitrogenous base a doublering purine or a singlering pyrimidine, linked to phosphorylated sugar. The two main types of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid dna and ribonucleic acid rna. Although not all of their functions are known, we see in this chapter that some. The lack of a 2oh on deoxyribose makes dna more stable than rna. The key concept is that some form of nucleic acid is the genetic material, and these encode the macromolecules that function in the cell.
The grna forms part of editosome and contain sequences to hybridize to matching sequences in the mrna to guide the mrna modifications. Learn about the structure, types, and functions of rna. Many of the fundamental properties of cells are a function of their nucleic acids. Clearly, the structures of dna and rna are richer and more intricate than was at. Here, we look at 5 key differences between dna and rna. Indeed, there is no one generic structure for dna and rna. Guide rna grna are rna genes that function in rna editing, found in mitochondria by inserting or deleting stretches of uridylates us.
Discovery of the hybrid helix and the first dnarna hybridization. Name the three types of rna and identify the role of each in. In many ways, molecular biology is the merger of biochemistry with genetics. Rna consists of ribose nucleotides and the nitrogenous bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil. Unlike doublestranded dna, rna is a singlestranded molecule in many of its biological roles and consists of much shorter chains of nucleotides. The nucleotides combine with each other to form a polynucleotide. This is not an example of the work produced by our essay writing service. Rna catalysts, however, remain, as remnants of that early world. Unlike dna replication, nevertheless, just one of the two released strands of dna functions as a guide for rna synthesis. Here i describe early research on rna structure and the discovery of the dna rna. Dna structure confers advantages both for information accessibility and for packaging. In particular, we can look at the fivecarbon sugar on its backbone. Comparison of the helix and base structure of rna and dna.
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