Is nucleic acid is basic unit of life?
Nucleic acids are biopolymers, macromolecules, essential to all known forms of life. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made of three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base.
What are the three basic units of nucleotide?
Each nucleotide, in turn, is made up of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate.
What is the basic unit of proteins?
Proteins are made up of hundreds or thousands of smaller units called amino acids, which are attached to one another in long chains. There are 20 different types of amino acids that can be combined to make a protein.
What are the four basic units of DNA?
There are 4 different bases in DNA: Guanine (G), Adenine (A), Cytosine (C) and Thymine (T). The sequence in which the bases occur is a code that contains information.
What is a nucleotide base?
A molecule consisting of a nitrogen-containing base (adenine, guanine, thymine, or cytosine in DNA; adenine, guanine, uracil, or cytosine in RNA), a phosphate group, and a sugar (deoxyribose in DNA; ribose in RNA).
What is nucleic acid made of?
Nucleic acids are made of nitrogen-containing bases, phosphate groups, and sugar molecules. Each type of nucleic acid has a distinctive structure and plays a different role in our cells.
What is the basic unit of an amino acid?
1. Amino acids share a basic structure, which consists of a central carbon atom, also known as the alpha (α) carbon, bonded to an amino group (NH2), a carboxyl group (COOH), and a hydrogen atom.
What is the basic unit of carbohydrates?
Monosaccharide: The most basic, fundamental unit of a carbohydrate. These are simple sugars with the general chemical structure of C6H12O6.
Is DNA a nucleic acid?
Nucleic acids, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), carry genetic information which is read in cells to make the RNA and proteins by which living things function.
What are the bases of DNA?
There are four nucleotides, or bases, in DNA: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). These bases form specific pairs (A with T, and G with C).
What is the base of DNA?
The four bases in DNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). These bases form specific pairs (A with T, and G with C). Base pair may also refer to the actual number of base pairs, such as 8 base pairs, in a sequence of nucleotides.
Which is a nucleic acid?
Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that play essential roles in all cells and viruses. A major function of nucleic acids involves the storage and expression of genomic information. Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, encodes the information cells need to make proteins.
Why nucleic acid is called acid?
RNA (Ribonucleic acid) is referred to as nucleic acid due to the acidic nature of its phosphate group. The phosphodiester bond is prone to lose its proton easily in the nucleophile group, hence masks the basic nature contributed by the nitrogenous bases.
What is basic unit of protein?
The basic structural unit of protein is amino acid. The molecules of either same or different amino acids join together to form a chain known as polypeptide chain. Many polypeptide chains join together to form a protein, which is a complex structure.
What’s the basic units of proteins?
Proteins are made up of hundreds or thousands of smaller units called amino acids, which are attached to one another in long chains. There are 20 different types of amino acids that can be combined to make a protein.
What are the most basic units of proteins?
The basic structural unit of protein is an amino acid. For the formation of proteins, amino acids, combined in long chains.
What is nucleic acid composed of?
Nucleic acids contain the same elements as proteins: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen; plus phosphorous (C, H, O, N, and P). Nucleic acids are very large macromolecules composed of repetitive units of the same building blocks, nucleotides, similar to a pearl necklace made of many pearls.
Is RNA a nucleic acid?
Ribonucleic acid (abbreviated RNA) is a nucleic acid present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA. Unlike DNA, however, RNA is most often single-stranded. An RNA molecule has a backbone made of alternating phosphate groups and the sugar ribose, rather than the deoxyribose found in DNA.
Why are nucleotides called bases?
A nucleotide is the basic building block of nucleic acids (RNA and DNA). A nucleotide consists of a sugar molecule (either ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA) attached to a phosphate group and a nitrogen-containing base. The bases used in DNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T).
What is a nucleic acid made of?
Nucleic acids are made of nitrogen-containing bases, phosphate groups, and sugar molecules. Each type of nucleic acid has a distinctive structure and plays a different role in our cells.
What are nucleotides made of?
A molecule consisting of a nitrogen-containing base (adenine, guanine, thymine, or cytosine in DNA; adenine, guanine, uracil, or cytosine in RNA), a phosphate group, and a sugar (deoxyribose in DNA; ribose in RNA).
Is nucleic acid a base or acid?
The presence of phosphate groups in nucleic acids causes them to be acidic in nature. The easily-lost proton found in them is the reason why nucleic acids are acidic. In other words, nucleic acids are composed of nucleotides as a result of the phosphate group derived from phosphoric acid which makes it acidic.
What is the basic structure and function of nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), carry genetic information which is read in cells to make the RNA and proteins by which living things function. The well-known structure of the DNA double helix allows this information to be copied and passed on to the next generation.
Where are nucleic acids?
There are two types of nucleic acids which are polymers found in all living cells. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is found mainly in the nucleus of the cell, while Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is found mainly in the cytoplasm of the cell although it is usually synthesized in the nucleus.
What are RNA bases?
An RNA molecule has a backbone made of alternating phosphate groups and the sugar ribose, rather than the deoxyribose found in DNA. Attached to each sugar is one of four bases: adenine (A), uracil (U), cytosine (C) or guanine (G).
What is the base of a nucleotide?
A nucleotide is composed of a nitrogenous base, deoxyribose (five-carbon sugar), and at least one phosphate group. The nitrogenous bases are purines such as adenine (A) and guanine (G), or pyrimidines such as cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U).
What are bases in DNA?
The four bases in DNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). These bases form specific pairs (A with T, and G with C). Base pair may also refer to the actual number of base pairs, such as 8 base pairs, in a sequence of nucleotides.
What is nucleotide base?
A molecule consisting of a nitrogen-containing base (adenine, guanine, thymine, or cytosine in DNA; adenine, guanine, uracil, or cytosine in RNA), a phosphate group, and a sugar (deoxyribose in DNA; ribose in RNA).
How many bases are present in nucleic acid?
five different Nucleic acids contain five different nucleotide bases.
What is the basic structure of a nucleotide?
A nucleotide is the basic building block of nucleic acids (RNA and DNA). A nucleotide consists of a sugar molecule (either ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA) attached to a phosphate group and a nitrogen-containing base. The bases used in DNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T).