NUCLEIC ACIDS

The molecules of life

 What are nucleic acids?

How many types of nucleic

acids are present in our body?
✓ Nucleic acids are the biopolymers.

✓ Small biomolecules.

✓ Essential to all known forms of life.

✓ The two main types of nucleic acids are

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid
(RNA).

✓ DNA and RNA are composed of nucleotides, which

are the monomers made of three components: a 5-
carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous
base.
 Basic Structure

Each nucleic acid contains four of five possible nitrogen-

containing bases:

Adenine (A)
Guanine (G
Cytosine (C)
Thymine (T)
uracil (U)

Purines: ‘A’ and ‘G’

Pyrimidines: ‘C’ and ‘T’

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DNA RNA
The molecules of life
 DNA Discovery
DNA was first observed by a German biochemist named Frederich
Miescher in 1869.

But for many years, researchers did not realize the importance of this
molecule.

It was not until 1953 that James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins
and Rosalind Franklin figured out the structure of DNA — a double
helix — which they realized could carry biological information.

Watson, Crick and Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine
in 1962 "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of
nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living
material."

Franklin was not included in the award, although her work was
integral to the research.
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 DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID [DNA]

DNA is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms,
including some viruses, that make each species unique.

DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions

for the development and function of living things.

DNA, along with the instructions it contains, is passed from adult organisms to
their offspring during reproduction.

Organisms inherit half of their nuclear DNA from their father and half from their
mother.

DNA is often compared to a blueprint, since it contains the instructions to

construct other components of the cell, such as proteins and RNA molecules.

The major function of DNA is to encode the sequence of amino acid residues
in proteins, using the genetic code.

The main role of DNA in the cell is the long-term storage of information.

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Where is DNA found
in the Human Body?

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 Where is DNA found in the Human Body?

There are around 30 trillion cells in the body, and DNA is found
in most but not all of them

In eukaryotes such as animals and plants, DNA is not floating

but stored inside the cell NUCLEUS (where it is called nuclear
DNA), while in prokaryotes such as bacteria and archaea, the
DNA is in the cell's cytoplasm

But a small amount of DNA can also be found in the

mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA) and
chloroplast of plants

Importantly, not every cell in the human body

contains DNA bundled in a cell nucleus

Specifically, mature red blood cells and cornified cells in the

skin, hair, and nails contain no nucleus. Hair follicle at the base
contain cellular material rich in DNA
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 How much DNA is in a cell?

Each human cell has about six picograms of DNA.

The haploid human genome contains approximately 3 billion base pairs

of DNA packaged into 23 chromosomes

Most cells in the body (except for ova and sperm) are diploid, with 23
pairs of chromosomes. That makes a total of 6 billion base pairs of DNA
per cell

If DNA is unwind in one cell, it would be six feet long. Combining the
DNA from all the cells would make a strand that's 34 billion miles long.
For comparison, at its farthest, Pluto is only 4.67 billion miles away from
the Earth.

In other words, the DNA from just one human is so long that it could
reach to Pluto and back more than seven times. Now you can see why
it’s so important to pack that DNA tightly into that microscopic cell

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 DNA Structure

▪ DNA is a long polymer of simple units called nucleotides, which are held together by a backbone
made of sugars and phosphate groups.

▪ This backbone carries four types of molecules called bases and it is the sequence of these four
bases that encodes information. The four types of nitrogen bases are adenine (A), thymine (T),
guanine (G) and cytosine (C).

▪ The sequence of these bases determines what biological instructions are contained in a strand of
DNA. For example, the sequence ATCGTT might instruct for blue eyes, while ATCGCT might instruct
for brown eyes. 11
 The Structure of DNA
• Two polynucleotide strands wrapped around each other
in a double helix
• A sugar-phosphate backbone
• Steps made of hydrogen-bound bases (A=T, C=G)

Twist
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 DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid) bases
Thymine (T) Cytosine (C) Adenine (A) Guanine (G)

pyrimidines purines

Pyrimidines: single ring bases

Purines: double ring bases
Complimentary binding pattern:
• Adenine + Thymine
(share 2 hydrogen bonds)
• Cytosine + Guanine
(share 3 hydrogen bonds)

Similar to the way the order of letters in the alphabet can be used to form a word, the
order of nitrogen bases in a DNA sequence forms genes, which in the language of the
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cell, tells cells how to make proteins.
 Function of DNA
DNA contains the genetic instructions needed for an organism
to develop, survive and reproduce.

To carry out these functions, DNA sequences must be

converted into messages that can be used to produce
proteins.

Each DNA sequence that contains instructions to make a

protein is known as a gene.

The size of a gene may vary greatly, ranging from about 1,000
bases to 1 million bases in humans.

Genes only make up about 1 percent of the DNA sequence.

DNA sequences outside this 1 percent are involved in

regulating when, how and how much of a protein is made. 14
What is an

RNA
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RNA
• RNA is ribonucleic
acid and is very similar
to DNA except:
1. RNA has ribose sugar
instead of deoxyribose
sugar
2. RNA has Uracil instead
of Thymine
3. RNA is a single strand
4. RNA is needed to
make proteins

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RNA is found mainly in the cytoplasm of the cell,
although it is usually synthesized in the nucleus.

The amount of RNA per cells is around 10–30pg.

The main function of RNA is to carry information of

amino acid sequence from the genes to where proteins
are assembled on ribosomes in the cytoplasm. This is
done by messenger RNA (mRNA).

A single strand of DNA is the blueprint for the mRNA

which is transcribed from that DNA strand.

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RNA is needed to make proteins
• EUKARYOTES: RNA copies the information from the
DNA inside the nucleus then travels outside to the
cytoplasm

• PROKARYOTES: RNA and proteins are made in the

cytoplasm

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 RNA is needed to make proteins
• Three different types of RNA are involved in
making protein:
• messenger RNA (mRNA)
• ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
• transfer RNA (tRNA)

• mRNA carries the message or code outside the

nucleus
• rRNA makes up part of the ribosome
• tRNA brings the correct amino acids to the
ribosome for protein construction

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 Difference between RIBOSE and DEOXYRIBOSE sugars

Ribose is found in RNA. It is a "normal" sugar, with one oxygen atom

attached to each carbon atom.

Deoxyribose is found in DNA,. It is a modified sugar, lacking one

oxygen atom (hence the name "deoxy").

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 Nucleic acids

DNA RNA
• Deoxy ribonucleic acid • Ribonucleic acid

• Located in nucleus in • Omnipresent, but predominantly

eukaryotes localised in cytoplasm

• Double stranded and • Single stranded with multiple

helical in nature structures

• Single function: carries • Multiple functions. Known as

genetic information intermediate in genetic flow

• Can be very long • Relatively shorter

• Genetic information in retro

viruses

• Functions of some RNAs remains

largely unknown
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 CHROMOSOMES DNA GENES GENOMES

Life depends on the ability of cells to STORE, RETRIEVE, and TRANSLATE

the geneticinstructions required to MAKE and MAINTAIN a living
organism

DNA is the building block of the genetic material found in all living
things

CHROMOSOME is a long and linear form of DNA. Many DNA molecules

are present per cell, which are tightly packaged and called as a
chromosome

GENES are DNA segments that carry genetic information

GENOME: All the different chromosomes of an

organism make up that organism's genome

In other words: Genes makes up DNA, DNA make up

chromosomes, and chromosomes make up a genome
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 DNA and diseases

GENETIC DISORDER is a disease that is caused by a

change, or mutation, in an individual's DNA sequence.

Down Syndrome
Thalassemia
Hemophilia
Cystic Fibrosis
Tay-Sachs disease
Sickle Cell Anemia

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 RNA and Diseases
RNA molecules undergo multiple post-transcriptional processes such as
splicing, editing, modification, translation, and degradation.

A defect, mis-regulation, or malfunction of these processes often results

in diseases in humans, referred to as 'RNA diseases'.

Myotonic dystrophy: A long-term genetic disorder that affects muscle

function. It is a type of muscular dystrophy. Symptoms include gradually
worsening muscle loss and weakness. Muscles often contract and are
unable to relax. Other symptoms may include cataracts, intellectual
disability and heart conduction problems.

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS): characterized by

problems with movement and thinking ability (cognition). FXTAS is a late-
onset disorder, usually occurring after age 50, and its signs and symptoms
worsen with age

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