Nucleotides

Structure of DNA, RNA, ATP

Nucleic acids
• Nucleic acids: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic
acid) are macromolecules (giant molecules) being polymers
• They are made up of similar, smaller molecules (known
as subunits or monomers) joined into a long chain
•  are known as nucleotides, therefore DNA, RNA are
polynucleotides
• Nucleotides themselves then combine together, one nucleotide at a
time, to form huge molecules called nucleic acids or polynucleotides
A Nucleotide
• made up of three components:
• A nitrogen-containing base/nitrogenous base, either cytosine (C), guanine
(G), adenine (A), thymine (T) or uracil (U)
• a pentose sugar, either deoxyribose (in DNA) or ribose (in RNA) containing 5
carbon atoms
• phosphoric acid.A pentose sugar/A phosphate group/phosphoric acid.
ATP
• It is a phosphorylated
• Phosphorylated
• Phosphorylation involves the addition of phosphate to an organic compound.
•  nucleotide
• Adenosine (a nucleoside) can be combined with one, two or three phosphate
groups
• One phosphate group = adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
• Two phosphate groups = adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
• Three phosphate groups = adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
ATP – a nucleotide with unusual features
• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy-carrying molecule that
provides the energy to drive many processes inside living cells
• ATP is another type of nucleic acid
• structure similar to an RNA nucleotide
ATP
• ATP is referred to as ‘the universal energy currency’ because, like
money, it can be used in different contexts, and it is constantly
recycled
• Sometimes ATP reacts with water (a hydrolysis reaction) and is
converted to ADP and Pi.
• Mostly, ATP reacts with other metabolites
purines and pyrimidines
• The nitrogenous base molecules occur in two structural
forms: purines and pyrimidines
• The bases adenine and guanine are purines – they have a double
ring structure
• The bases cytosine, thymine and uracil are pyrimidines – they have
a single ring structure