How are nucleic acids polymers formed?

DNA and RNA polymers are constructed by forming phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides. This arrangement is called the “sugar-phosphate backbone” of DNA or RNA; the bases hang off to the side. In the cell, DNA or RNA polymers are synthesized using nucleoside triphosphate monomers as precursors.

What polymer makes up nucleic acid?

A nucleic acid is a polymeric macromolecule made up of repeated units of monomeric ‘nucleotides’ composed of a nitrogenous heterocyclic base which is either a purine or a pyrimidine, a pentose (five carbon) sugar (either ribose or 2′-deoxyribose), and one to three phosphate groups.

What creates nucleic acids?

Nucleic acids are formed when nucleotides come together through phosphodiester linkages between the 5′ and 3′ carbon atoms. They are composed of monomers, which are nucleotides made of three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base.

Why are nucleic acids a polymer?

A polymer is a large molecule that is built up from multiple smaller building blocks in a repetitive manner. The building blocks of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA are nucleotides (see image). It can also be a single strand = RNA. Both DNA and RNA are polymers.

How are nucleotides formed?

Nucleotides are the monomeric units of nucleic acids. A nucleotide is formed from a carbohydrate residue connected to a heterocyclic base by a β-D-glycosidic bond and to a phosphate group at C-5′ (compounds containing the phosphate group at C-3′ are also known).

What is the monomer and polymer of nucleic acids?

In case of nucleic acids, monomers are the nucleotides composed of nitrogenous base, pentose sugar, and phosphate group whereas DNA and RNA are considered as polymer of nucleic acids. DNA and RNA are composed of monomers termed as nucleotides.

What is the monomer and polymer for nucleic acid?

nucleotides
In case of nucleic acids, monomers are the nucleotides composed of nitrogenous base, pentose sugar, and phosphate group whereas DNA and RNA are considered as polymer of nucleic acids. DNA and RNA are composed of monomers termed as nucleotides.

What is the monomer and polymer of DNA?

DNA consists of two long polymers (called strands) that run in opposite directions and form the regular geometry of the double helix. The monomers of DNA are called nucleotides. Nucleotides have three components: a base, a sugar (deoxyribose) and a phosphate residue.

What 3 things make up nucleic acids?

The structure of nucleic acid. A nucleotide is made up of three parts that are attached by bonds. The three parts are a phosphate group, a 5-carbon sugar, and a nitrogen base.

Why are nucleic acids acids?

Explanation: More specifically, this acidity comes from the phosphate groups used in forming DNA and RNA molecules. These phosphate groups are quite similar to phosphoric acid. That easily-lost proton is what causes nucleic acids to be so acidic.

When was polymers from nucleotides formed?

The polymerization of nucleotides occurs in a condensation reaction in which phosphodiester bonds and H2O molecules are formed, as shown in Fig. 2c. The resulting structure resembles the backbone of an RNA molecule in which the nucleotides are found at a well defined distance of 3.4 Å, as shown in Fig.

What is the first nucleotide formed?

Structural elements of three nucleotides—where one-, two- or three-phosphates are attached to the nucleoside (in yellow, blue, green) at center: 1st, the nucleotide termed as a nucleoside monophosphate is formed by adding a phosphate (in red); 2nd, adding a second phosphate forms a nucleoside diphosphate; 3rd, adding a …

Who discovered the monomers of nucleic acids?

Two types of nucleic acids are DNA and RNA. The monomers of mucleic acid contains the pentose sugar, nitrogenous bases and the phosphate group attached with the bases. Friedrich Miescher was the first scientists who discovered the nucleic acids. He identified the nucleic acids from the bandage that contains the nuclei of white blood cells.

Why do humans need nucleic acids?

While you need nucleic acids in your body, you don’t need them in your diet. Humans have a very limited ability to take up the building blocks of nucleic acids, called nucleotides , from the digestive tract. Instead, we tend to make our own nucleotides, using amino acids as precursors.

What are some interesting facts about nucleic acids?

Nucleic acids are DNA, mRNA, and tRNA, and they are the building blocks of life. Each nucleic acid is made of up five parts: uracil, thymine, cytosine, adenine and guanine. Humans need 20 amino acids and five nucleotides to survive.

What are the names of the four nucleotides?

In DNA, there are four nucleotides: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. The parts of a nucleotide are a nucleoside plus one or more phosphate groups. wikipedia.org. Adenine molecule, where gray atoms are carbon, white are hydrogen, and blue are nitrogen.