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Nucleic acid structure refers to the structure of nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA. Chemically speaking, DNA and RNA are very similar. Chemically speaking, DNA and RNA are very similar. Nucleic acid structure is often divided into four different levels: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary.
RNA secondary structure is usually represented by the dot-bracket notation, with pairing round brackets indicating basepairs in a stem and dots representing loops. The interrupted stems of pseudoknots mean that such notation must be extended with extra brackets, or even letters, so that different sets of stems can be represented.
The primary structure of a biopolymer is the exact specification of its atomic composition and the chemical bonds connecting those atoms (including stereochemistry).For a typical unbranched, un-crosslinked biopolymer (such as a molecule of a typical intracellular protein, or of DNA or RNA), the primary structure is equivalent to specifying the sequence of its monomeric subunits, such as amino ...
Nucleic acids consist of a chain of linked units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of three subunits: a phosphate group and a sugar (ribose in the case of RNA, deoxyribose in DNA) make up the backbone of the nucleic acid strand, and attached to the sugar is one of a set of nucleobases.
Both types of pentoses in DNA and RNA are in their β-furanose (closed five-membered ring) form and they define the identity of a nucleic acid. DNA is defined by containing 2'-deoxy-ribose nucleic acid while RNA is defined by containing ribose nucleic acid. [1] In some occasions, DNA and RNA may contain some minor bases.
The DNA model shown (far right) is a space-filling, or CPK, model of the DNA double helix. Animated molecular models, such as the wire, or skeletal, type shown at the top of this article, allow one to visually explore the three-dimensional (3D) structure of DNA. Another type of DNA model is the space-filling, or CPK, model.
The phosphodiester backbone of DNA and RNA consists of pairs of deoxyribose or ribose sugars linked by phosphates at the respective 3' and 5' positions. The backbone is negatively charged and hydrophilic, which allows strong interactions with water. [1] Sugar-phosphate backbone forms the structural framework of nucleic acids, including DNA and ...
Specifically, it is the phosphodiester bonds that link the 3' carbon atom of one sugar molecule and the 5' carbon atom of another (hence the name 3', 5' phosphodiester linkage used with reference to this kind of bond in DNA and RNA chains). [3] The involved saccharide groups are deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA.