Nucleic Acid

Maglupay, Torres, Alombro, Barroso, Asas,

Intong, Legaspi, Leono, Padua, Trapa
 Nucleic Acids
What are nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are molecules that code
A for hereditary traits by controlling the
production of protein

What are nucleic acids?

B Nucleic acids are long chain of polymers
consisting of simpler units or monomers
 Nucleic Acids
2 kinds of nucleic acids
C Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)

Nucleotides
D Monomers of nucleic acid. They are made up
of three parts: a five carbon sugar (pentose), a
phosphate group, and a ring-shaped base
containing nitrogen
Characteristics
 DNA RNA
It contains the genetic instruction It is responsible for the template in the
used in the development and synthesis of proteins which in turn control
functioning of all living organisms operation and function of the cell

Long-term storage and Transfer the genetic information for

transmission of genetic the creation of proteins from the
information Function Function nucleus to the ribosomes

Deoxyribose sugar Ribose sugar

Phosphate Backbone; Four Bases; Phosphate Backbone; Four Bases;
adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil

A – T (Adenine – Thymine) A – U (Adenine – Uracil)

G – C (Guanine – Cytosine) G – C (Guanine – Cytosine)
Structure
Importance
 The DNA is the biological molecule that
1 stores all the genetic information of the cell
(in some viruses RNA may function as the
molecule that stores the genetic information).
Everything that the cells has to do, at what
time in its life cycle, and how it has to do it is
determined by the information contained in
the DNA molecule. In addition, DNA functions
as the molecule that carries on the genetic
information from parent to offspring.
2 RNA is made when the complex biochemical
decodification machinery of the cell acts on the
DNA to extract the information needed for a
particular function. RNA is a key factor for
protein synthesis. RNA is responsible for
transferring the information contained in the
DNA to make a particular protein needed in a
specific process for a specific function.
2 Messenger RNA (mRNA) is the nucleic acid
that brings information (from the nucleus to
the cytoplasm) about which protein to make,
and transfer RNA (tRNA) is responsible for
transporting aminoacids to the ribosomes to
make the required proteins. There is also
regulatory RNA, that is RNA molecules
capable of regulating gene expression by
different mechanisms such as interference or
blocking.
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Nucleic acids are the only way a cell has to
store information on its own processes and to
transmit that information to its offspring.
When nucleic acids were discovered to be the
carriers of hereditary information, scientists
were able to explain the mechanism for
Darwin and Wallace's theory of evolution and
Mendel's theory of genetics.
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Understanding how genes are read by the cell
and used to create proteins creates enormous
opportunities for understanding disease.
Genetic diseases occur when errors are
introduced into the genes that DNA carries;
those errors create faulty RNA, which creates
faulty proteins that don't function the way
they're supposed to.
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Cancer is caused by damage to DNA or
interference with the mechanisms for its
replication or repair. By understanding nucleic
acids and their mechanics of action, we can
understand how diseases occur and,
eventually, how to cure them.
Thank You