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The double-stranded structure of DNA provides a simple mechanism for DNA replication. Here, the two strands are separated and then each strand's complementary DNA sequence is recreated by an enzyme called DNA polymerase. This enzyme makes the complementary strand by finding the correct base through complementary base pairing and bonding it onto ...
DNA structure and bases A-B-Z-DNA Side View. Tertiary structure refers to the locations of the atoms in three-dimensional space, taking into consideration geometrical and steric constraints. It is a higher order than the secondary structure, in which large-scale folding in a linear polymer occurs and the entire chain is folded into a specific 3 ...
The chemical structure of DNA is insufficient to understand the complexity of the 3D structures of DNA. In contrast, animated molecular models allow one to visually explore the three-dimensional (3D) structure of DNA. The DNA model shown (far right) is a space-filling, or CPK, model of the DNA double helix. Animated molecular models, such as ...
Two important functions are the binding potential with ligands or proteins, and its ability to stabilize the whole tertiary structure of DNA or RNA. The strong structure can inhibit or modulate transcription and replication, such as in the telomeres of chromosomes and the UTR of mRNA. [18] The base identity is important towards ligand binding.
It is not always the case that the structure of a molecule is easy to relate to its function. What makes the structure of DNA so obviously related to its function was described modestly at the end of the article: "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material".
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.
A furanose (sugar-ring) molecule with carbon atoms labeled using standard notation. The 5′ is upstream; the 3′ is downstream. DNA and RNA are synthesized in the 5′-to-3′ direction. Directionality, in molecular biology and biochemistry, is the end-to-end chemical orientation of a single strand of nucleic acid.
Nuclear DNA is a nucleic acid, a polymeric biomolecule or biopolymer, found in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.Its structure is a double helix, with two strands wound around each other, a structure first described by Francis Crick and James D. Watson (1953) using data collected by Rosalind Franklin.