NUCLEIC ACIDS AND THEIR

METABOLISM
Naresh panigrahi
Gitam university
 Nucleic Acid

Definition

• Nucleic acids are essential large biological molecules for all

forms of life. The nucleic acids include the DNA and the
RNA. They are the hereditary determinants of living
organisms.

• They are present in most living cells either in free state or

bound to proteins as nucleoproteins. The nucleic acids are
biopolymers with mononucleotides and their repeating
units.
• The monomers are known as nucleotides, they are made
up of three units: a sugar, an amine and a phosphate group.
 History
• In 1869, Friedrich Miescher isolated nuclei from pus cell and found
that they contained phosphate-rich substance, he named it nuclein.

• In 1899, Altmann, introduced the term nuclei acid.

• Fischer in the 1880s, discovered purine and pyramidine bases in
nucleic acids.
• Zacharis in the year 1881, identified nuclein with chromatin.
• In 1884, Hertwig claimed that nuclein is responsible for the
transmission of hereditary characters.
• In 1941, Caspersson and Brachet, related that nucleic acids were
connected to protein synthesis.
• In 1944, Oswald T. Avery, Colin M. MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty,
experimented that DNA is directly involved in inheritance.
• In 1953, James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick constructed the
double helical model for the DNA molecule.
 Properties of nucleic acids are as
follows:
• Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) are long polymers made of repeating units of
nucleotides.

• Nucleotide units are made of phosphate-sugar-nitrogenous base units.

• The nitrogenous bases found in DNA are adenine, guanine, cytosine and
thymine.

• Adenine and guanine are purine bases while cytosine and thymine are
pyrimidnes.

• In RNA, the thymine bases id replaced by uracil which is also a pyrimidine.

• The nucleotides are linked with phosphodiester bonds.

• They are linked by a phosphate group on the 5th position of sugar residue
becomes linked to 3' hydroxyl group of the preceeding sugar molecule.

• The double stranded model of the DNA was worked out by Watson and
Crick in 1953.
• The double helix model consists of two strands wound around a central
axis with the bases stacked inside.

• The order of the strand is in opposite directions, i.e., from 5' to 3' direction
in one and 3'to 5' direction in the other.

• The bases stacked in the center of the helix as they interact with each
other through weak hydrogen bonds.

• Hydrogen bonds are weaker than covalent bonds, they are continually
forming and disassociating.

• In the double stranded nucleic acids, the adenine form hydrogen bonds
only with thymine (or uracil) molecule. While cytidine will only form
hydrogen bonds with guanine.

• Hence, in a a given strand of DNA, the amount of adenine is always equal

to the amount of thymine, and the amount of cytidine always equals the
amount of guanine, in a given species.

• The per cent of the G-T and the A-T is variable from species to species.
•The base pairs form a flat plain in the helix, the adenine
forming two hydrogen bonds with thymine, and the
cytidine forming three bonds with guanine.
•Using the concept of base pairing, all the enzymes and
substrates necessary, the two DNA strands when copied
separately, wherever there is adenine in the original
strand, the duplicated strand will have thymidine, and
guanine would be matched to cytosine.
•After replication, each original strand (parent strand), is
paired with a new (daughter) strand. This type of
replication is known as semi-conservative mode of
duplication.
•The double stranded DNA can be denatured by alkaline
conditions or heat.
 Nucleoside, Nucleotide & Nucleic acid
phosphate

sugar base

phosphate phosphate

sugar base
sugar base sugar base

phosphate
nucleoside nucleotides
sugar base

nucleic acids

Dr Siham Gritly 8
DNA, RNA and the nucleobases

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 Functions of Nucleic Acids
• The main functions is store and transfer genetic information.

• To use the genetic information to direct the synthesis of new protein.

• The deoxyribonucleic acid is the storage for place for genetic information in the cell.

• DNA controls the synthesis of RNA in the cell.

• The genetic information is transmitted from DNA to the protein synthesizers in the cell.

• RNA also directs the production of new protein by transmitting genetic information to the protein building
structures.

• The function of the nitrogenous base sequences in the DNA backbone determines the proteins being
synthesized.

• The function of the double helix of the DNA is that no disorders occur in the genetic information if it is lost
or damaged.

• RNA directs synthesis of proteins.

• m-RNA takes genetic message from RNA.

• t-RNA transfers activated amino acid, to the site of protein synthesis.

• r-RNA are mostly present in the ribosomes, and responsible for stability of m-RNA.
• Deoxyribonucleotide; monomeric building
block of DNA; a phosphate group and a
nitrogenous base both bonded to deoxyribose
• Ribonucleotide; monomeric building block of
RNA; a phosphate group and a nitrogenous
base both bonded to ribose sugar
• Duplex; two complementary strands of DNA
• Mutant; genetically altered species or cell

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• Nucleoside; nitrogenous base bonded to ribose
or deoxyribose
• Nucleotide; monomeric building block of
RNA and DNA; a phosphate group and a
nitrogenous base both bonded to ribose or
deoxyribose
• Nucleic Acids are Polynucleotides
• Phosphodiester; two different alcohols
forming ester linkages with one phosphate ion
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• Replication; DNA synthesis
• Template; a section of DNA which is being
replicated or transcribed; mRNA which is
being translated
• Transcription; synthesis of RNA from DNA
• Translation; synthesis of proteins from an
RNA template

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 Nucleotides
Nucleoside phosphates
• Nucleotides are monomers of nucleic acids

• The nucleotides found in cells are derivatives

of the heterocyclic highly basic, compounds,
purine and pyrimidine present in DNA and
RNA (nitrogenous bases)

Heterocyclic are ring compounds that contain

both carbon atom and non-carbon atoms --
mainly nitrogen atom.

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 Nucleotide Structures of purine and pyrimidine
Heterocyclic ring compounds

Nitrogenous Bases

Single six-sided ring Double ring purines

pyrimidinesC4H4N2 (six- and five-sided)
C5H4N4
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 Types of nucleotide bases

• There are five major bases found in cells.

• The derivatives of purine are called adenine
and guanine (found in both DNA & RNA) ,

• the derivatives of pyrimidine are called

thymine, cytosine and uracil.
•

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The derivatives of purine ; adenine and guanine (found in both
DNA & RNA) 1-Adenine 6-aminopurine, 2-Guanine 2-amino-
6-oxypurine

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the derivatives of pyrimidine are thymine, cytosine and uracil.
Cytosine- 2-oxy-4-aminopyrimidine, Uracil-n2,4-
dioxypyrimidineThymine-2,4-dioxy-, 5-methyl

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• The common abbreviations used for these five
bases are, A, G, T, C and U.

• Cytosine & Uracil in RNA

• Cytosine and thymine in DNA
• The nucleotide uridine is never found in DNA
• thymine is almost exclusively found in DNA.
• Thymine is found in tRNAs but not rRNAs nor
mRNAs

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 Nucleotides mainly;
Pentose sugar+ β-N-glycosidic bond+
phosphoryl group

• Derivative of purines and pyrimidines are

nucleotides----contain mainly cyclyized sugar
Pentose linked to nitrogen hetroatom by β-N-
glycosidic bond additional to phosphoryl
group esterified to hydroxy group of the sugar
(β-D-ribose or β-D-2-deoxyribose)

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 Nucleotides mainly;
1-pentose sugar. 2-phosphate groups. 3-a
nitrogeous base
• 1-5–carbon sugar component
• Ribose
• Deoxyribose

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5–carbon sugar component; Ribose and Deoxyribose
Furanose structures

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• 2-Phosphate group Attached to the sugar's
5' carbon with a phosphodiester bond
• 3-Nitrogen Base component attached to the
sugar's 1'carbon.

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 Nucleosides
• Nucleoside consist of purine and pyrimidine
bases and a sugar β-D-ribose or β-D-2-
deoxyribose linked through a covalent β-N-
glycosidic bond
• Therefore Nucleosides are Formed by Joining
a Nitrogenous Base to a Sugar
• Base is linked via a β-N-glycosidic bond

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β-N-glycosidic bond linked nitrogen-9 of the purine
base or nitrogen-1 of the pyrinidine base with
carbon1 of pentose sugar

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• The nucleosides of A, G, C,T, U are named
• Adenine ---Adenosine
• Guanine ----Guanisine
• Cytosine ----Cytidine
• Thymine ----Thymidine
• Uracil -----Uridine
• Purine nucleosides end “osine”
• Pyrinidine ends in “idine”
• Ribose sugar produced; ribonucleoside
• 2-deoxyribose sugar produced;
deoxyribonucleosides

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Common nucleosides

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The genetic code