Highly simplified diagram of a double-stranded nucleic acid. Yellow circles represent phosphate; green circles represent pentose; red circles represent nitrogenous bases. Solid lines represent covalent bonds; dashed lines represent hydrogen bonds.

A nucleic acid is a complex, high-molecular-weight biochemical macromolecule composed of nucleotide chains that convey genetic information. The most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Nucleic acids are found in all living cells and viruses. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Biochemistry is the chemistry of life. ... A macromolecule is a molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass. ... A nucleotide is a monomer or the structural unit of nucleotide chains forming nucleic acids as RNA and DNA. A nucleotide consists of a heterocyclic nucleobase, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate or polyphosphate group. ... A DNA sequence (sometimes genetic sequence) is a succession of letters representing the primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA molecule or strand, The possible letters are A, C, G, and T, representing the four nucleotide subunits of a DNA strand (adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine), and typically these are... Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or deoxyribose nucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses). ... Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a nucleic acid consisting of a string of covalently-bound nucleotides. ... Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living organisms, sometimes called the building blocks of life. ...

Nucleic acid, so called because of its prevalence in cellular nuclei, is the generic name of family of biopolymers. The monomers are called nucleotides, and each consists of three components: a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (either a purine or a pyrimidine), a pentose sugar, and a phosphate group. Different nucleic acid types differ in the specific sugar found in their chain (e.g. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid contains 2-deoxyriboses). Also, the nitrogenous bases possible in the two nucleic acids are different: adenine, cytosine, and guanine are possible in both RNA and DNA, while thymine is possible only in DNA and uracil is possible only in RNA. In cell biology, the nucleus (from Latin nucleus or nuculeus, kernel) is an organelle, found in all eukaryotic cells, which contains most of the cells genetic material. ... A biopolymer is a polymer found in nature. ... In chemistry, a monomer (from Greek mono one and meros part) is a small molecule that may become chemically bonded to other monomers to form a polymer. ... A nucleotide is a monomer or the structural unit of nucleotide chains forming nucleic acids as RNA and DNA. A nucleotide consists of a heterocyclic nucleobase, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate or polyphosphate group. ... Heterocyclic compounds are substances which contain a ring structure as found in benzene and the aromatic compounds, or aromatic hydrocarbons, but in which other atoms than carbon, such as sulfur, oxygen or nitrogen are found as part of the ring. ... The common (Arrhenius) definition of a base is a chemical compound that either donates hydroxide ions or absorbs hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. ... Purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, consisting of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. ... Pyrimidine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, which is similar to benzene and pyridine and that contains two nitrogen atoms at positions 1 and 3 of the six-membered ring. ... Pentose - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... A sugar is a carbohydrate which is sweet to taste. ... In chemistry, a phosphate is a polyatomic ion or radical consisting of one phosphorus atom and four oxygen. ... Deoxyribose Deoxyribose (more precisely 2-deoxyribose) is a five-carbon sugar (a pentose) derived from the pentose sugar ribose by the repacement of the hydroxyl group at the 2 position with hydrogen, leading to the net loss of an oxygen. ... Adenine is one of the two purine nucleobases used in forming nucleotides of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. In DNA, adenine (A) binds to thymine (T) to assist in stabilizing the nucleic acid structures. ... Cytosine is one of the 5 main nucleobases used in storing and transporting genetic information within a cell in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached (an amine group at position 4 and a keto group at... Guanine is one of the four main nucleobases found in nucleic acids (, DNA and RNA). ... Thymine, also known as 5-methyluracil, is a pyrimidine nucleobase. ... Uracil is one of the four RNA nucleobases, replacing thymine as found in DNA. Just like thymine, uracil can form a base pair with adenine via two hydrogen bonds, but it lacks the methyl group present in thymine. ...

The sugars and phosphates in nucleic acids are connected to each other in an alternating chain through shared oxygens (forming a phosphodiester functional group). Using the conventional nomenclature, the carbons to which the phosphate groups are attached are the 3' and the 5' carbons. The bases extend from a glycosidic linkage to the 1' carbon of the pentose ring. Diagram of phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides A phosphodiester bond is a group of strong covalent bonds between the phosphorus atom in a phosphate group and two other molecules over two ester bonds. ... Molecular biologists use several shorthands when referring to nucleic acid molecules such as DNA and RNA, collectively referred to as nucleic acid nomenclature. ...

Nucleic acids may be single-stranded or double-stranded. A double-stranded nucleic acid consists of two single-stranded nucleic acids hydrogen-bonded together. RNA is usually single-stranded, but any given strand is likely to fold back upon itself to form double-helical regions. DNA is usually double-stranded, though some viruses have single-stranded DNA as their genome. A chemical bond is the phenomenon of atoms being held together in molecules or crystals. ... Three types of viruses: a bacterial virus, otherwise called a bacteriophage (left center); an animal virus (top right); and a retrovirus (bottom right). ...

Nucleic acids are primarily biology's means of storing and transmitting genetic information, though RNA is also capable of acting as an enzyme. Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Ribbon diagram of the catalytic perfect enzyme triose-phosphate isomerase (TIM). ...

Other facts

Hydrophobic interaction of nucleic acids is poorly understood. Nucleic acids are insoluble in ethanol and insoluble in TCA.insoluble in cold water, hot water, dil HCl. Soluble in dil NaOH, alcohol and HCl There are various common sources of DNA and RNA:

• Calf thymus DNA provides large linear DNA. It contains many breaks.
• T4 phage DNA is circular and can be isolated intact.
• Teichoic acids present in the cell walls of some gram-positive bacteria present a chemical structure resembling nucleic acids without the nucleobases.

Enterobacteria phage T4 is a phage that infects E. coli bacteria. ... Teichoic acids are polymers of glycerol or ribitol linked via phosphodiester bonds. ... A cell wall is a more or less solid layer surrounding a cell. ... Gram-positive bacteria are those that are stained dark blue or violet by gram staining, in contrast to gram-negative bacteria, which are not affected by the stain. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria is also the fictional name of a warring nation under Benzino Napaloni as dictator, in the 1940 film The Great Dictator... Chemical structure is the arrangement of atoms within a molecule, usually linked by covalent bonds. ... Nucleobases are the parts of RNA and DNA that are involved in pairing up (see also base pairs). ...

External links

• An Ambigraphic Nucleic Acid Notation