A1.2.

NUCLEIC ACIDS
A1.2.1. DNA as the genetic material of all living things.
DNA is a nucleic acid. Nucleic acids are the information molecules of cells found throughout the
living world.
The code containing the information in the nucleic acids is the genetic code and it’s universal
for all organisms, as it is not specific to a few organisms.
Two types of nucleic acids found in living cells:
● DNA: genetic material and occurs in the chromosomes of the nucleus.
● RNA: some RNA occurs in the nucleus, most found in the cytoplasm- particularly in
ribosomes.
○ Some viruses use RNA as their genetic material, such as common cold or rabies.

A1.2.2. Components of a nucleotide.

A nucleotide consists of three substances combined through covalent bonding. These are:
● Nitrogenous base: four bases of DNA are cytosine (C), guanine (G), adenine (A) and
thymine (T).
○ Bases can be divided into two groups:
■ Purines (adenine and guanine)
■ Pyrimidines (cytosine and thymine)
● Pentose sugar.
○ Deoxyribose in DNA
○ Ribose in RNA
● A phosphate group.
These components are combined by an enzyme-controlled condensation reaction to form a
nucleotide. Since any of the four bases can be incorporated, four types of nucleotides can be
found in DNA.
Look in textbook for knowing how to draw this.

A1.2.3. The sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA and RNA.

● Sugar-phosphate bonding:
○ Nucleotides may chemically combine, one nucleotide at a time by condensation
reactions to form larger molecules called nucleic acids or
polynucleotides.
 ■ Nucleic acids are very long linear macromolecules with alternating
sugar and phosphate molecules forming the backbone.
○ Sugar-phosphate bonding creates a continuous chain of covalently bonded atoms
in each strand of DNA and RNA nucleotides, which creates a strong backbone.

A1.2.4. Bases in each nucleic acid form the basis of a code.

Information in the DNA lies in the sequence of the nitrogenous bases (cytosine, guanine,
adenine and thymine), forming the genetic code. This sequence determines the order in which
specific amino acids are assembled and combined to create a protein.
● The code lies in the sequence in one of the DNA strands, the coding strand. The other
strand is complementary.
○ The coding strand is read by enzymes.
● The code is a three-letter code, meaning that each sequence of three bases stands for one
of the 20 amino acids, and is called a codon.
Nucleic acids code for the production of proteins in cells, and they make up for about two-thirds
of the total dry mass of a cell.
A1.2.5. RNA polymers
RNA molecules are short in length compared to DNA. They tend to be from a hundred
to thousands of nucleotides long.
The RNA molecule is a polymer.
● In messenger RNA, it is a single strand of polynucleotide, in which the sugar monomer is
ribose.
The bases found in RNA are:
● Cytosine, guanine, adenine and uracil.
The carbon atoms can be numbered in a ribose and its numbering runs from right to left.
Three functional types of RNA:
● Messenger RNA(mRNA): formed in the nucleus and transported out through nuclear
pores to the ribosomes.
● Transfer RNA (tRNA): made in nucleus and occurs in cytoplasm.
● Ribosomal RNA (rRNA): made in nucleus and occurs in cytoplasm.
RNA is formed by the condensation of many nucleotide monomers. The bond formed between
adjacent nucleotides is called a phosphodiester bond.
A1.2.6. The DNA double helix
The DNA molecule consists of two antiparallel polynucleotide strands paired together and held
by hydrogen bonds. The strands take the shape of a double helix.
● Genes
○ Within the DNA molecule, there are sections that code for proteins called genes.
○ Heritable factor (pass from parent to offspring during reproduction) that
influences a specific character, such as a feature of an organism (height in garden
pea plant or blood group in humans)
● Chromosomes
○ Genes are located on chromosomes.
○ Each gene occupies a specific position on a chromosome; therefore each
chromosome is a linear series of genes.
○ The gene for a particular characteristic is always found at the same position or
locus on a chromosome.
■ The gene controlling height in the garden pea plant is always present in
the exact same position on one chromosome of that plant. However the
gene for height may code “tall” or “dwarf”.
○ There are two or more forms of a gene and these are called alleles.
■ For a given gene, many alleles may exist in the gene pool of the species.
○ Chromosomes of eukaryotic cells occur in pairs called homologous
chromosomes.
■ Humans have 46 chromosomes, 23 from each parent.
■ Homologous chromosomes resemble each other in structure and they
contain the same sequence of genes.
A1.2.7. Differences between DNA and RNA
Both DNA and RNA are made of nucleotides although they have different structures.
● Main difference is that DNA has pentose sugar while RNA contains ribose.
● When distinguishing between DNA and RNA you need to refer to the number of strands
present, types of nitrogenous bases and the type of pentose sugar.
A1.2.8. Role of complementary base pairing
The pairing of baes is between adenine and thymine (held together by two hydrogen
bonds), and between cytosine and guanine (held together by three hydrogen bonds),
simply because these are the only combinations that fit together along the helix.
● This pairing is known as complementary base pairing and makes possible the very
precise way that DNA is copied in replication.
 ● Complementary base pairing allows genetic information to be replicated and expressed.

A1.2.9. Diversity of possible DNA base sequences

Although the genetic code consists only of four bases, the order in which they can be combined
is immeasurable. The diversity of possible DNA base sequences means that DNA has a limitless
capacity for storing information.
An indication of the storage capacity of DNA is the number of genes that can be contained
within it. Species vary in the numbers of genes they have.
● In a human cell, the DNa held in the nucleus measures about 2m in total length, and it
contains 3.2 Gb of data. Within this DNA, it is estimated that humans have between
20000 and 25000 protein-coding genes.
A1.2.10. Conservation of the genetic code.
The 64 codons in the genetic code of DNA have the same meaning and code for the same amino
acids in nearly all organisms.
● Over many generations, changes in the sequence of bases in the genome, and therefore
in the mRNA and order of amino acids that they assemble can occur due to mutations.
● Many sequences, both in areas which code for proteins (coding sequences) and those
that do not (known as non-coding sequences) persist unchanged: these are known as
conserved sequences.
● Even if the base sequences in coding areas of DNA change, the sequences of amino acids
that they code for may not, because each amino acid has several different mRNA codes,
so mutations do not necessarily affect the amino acid sequence of its protein product.
● The highly conserved genes are those that can be found in all organisms.
○ Proteins required for transcription and translation, and those found in
ribosomes.