Nucleic Acids

It can be said that nucleic acid is one of the most important biopolymers. They are present in all organisms. Think of them as the mother chip of your body. This is where your genetic information is encoded and recorded. The function of nucleic acid is to express this information outside the cell to the future generation. So it felicitates the transfer of genetic information from one generation to the next and so onwards.

Now nucleic acids are big and complex molecules. They have a linear binding between nucleotides. They are double-stranded and have highly complex sequencing.

Types of Nucleic Acids

Now there are two main types of nucleic acids, namely Deoxyribonucleic Acid and Ribonucleic Acid. And although the name sounds complicated you will be surprised to know you are already aware of them both. They are nothing but DNA and RNA. Let us study these both in a little more detail.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Better known as DNA this is the first type of nucleic acid. You are probably aware of DNA and know that every humans DNA is unique to themselves. But how does this happen and what exactly is DNA.

There are approximately 200 types of cells in our bodies like white blood cells, neurons (brain cells), cardiac muscle cells etc. Their chemical compositions within their cells differ. The cells get their instructions from this biopolymer that is Deoxyribonucleic Acid.

This information is the DNA code. This code forms due to the sequencing of the nucleotides in the polymer chain. The DNA has very long chains of nucleotides in their molecules and hence there are billions upon billions of sequences possible. This is the reason all of our DNA sequences are unique only to us.

Only 0.01% of our DNA coding is special and different for every human. This is what makes every individual unique.

Structure of the DNA

DNA is a double helix formed by twisting of two polynucleotide chains around each other.  Watson and Crick proposed the DNA structure using X-ray diffraction studies. The two strands are antiparallel to each other. The bases are stacked inside the helix. The two helices are bonded together via hydrogen bond. Adenine forms two hydrogen bonds with thymine and cytosine forms three hydrogen bonds with guanine.

DNA is negatively charged due to the presence of phosphate groups. This negative charge is stabilized by basic proteins known as histone proteins.

Ribonucleic Acid

RNA is our second type of nucleic acid. Although it does not get as much importance as DNA, Ribonucleic Acid is absolutely essential for our survival. RNA is actually the blueprint of our DNAs. While the DNA is always inside the nucleus of our cells, the RNA travels outside the nucleus to perform its functions.

Structure of the RNA 

RNA exists as single stranded structure. In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil.

There are actually three types of Ribonucleic Acids, namely:

· Ribosomal RNA: Is the main part of the ribosome, which is where the protein maker of our bodies.

· Messenger RNA: This RNA carries the message outside from the nucleus. It carries the information about what type of protein cells are to be manufactured.

· Transfer RNA: It brings the amino acid to the ribosome for protein production.