Chapter 5 Presentation

Nucleic Acids

By: Sam Erlinger, Pieter Derdeyn, and Christian Probst

September 1st, 2011

Nucleic Acids

  Nucleic acids store and transmit hereditary information

-  Gene: unit of inheritance

  Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) contains information to run cell

  Ribonucleic acid (RNA) transfers genetic information to ribosomes

  Ribosomes synthesize proteins

Nucleotide Structure

  3 groups of a nucleotide: -  Nitrogenous base

  Pyrimidine: cytosine (C), thymine (T), uracil (U)   Purines: adenine (A), guanine (G)

-  Pentose (sugar)   Ribose   Deoxyribose (lacks O atom)

-  Phosphate group

Polymer Structure

  Double Helix -  Sugar phosphate backbone (covalent bonds) -  Two strands held together by hydrogen bonds

between bases   RNA is single stranded

Tracing Evolution

  DNA sequencing can identify the sequence of bases

  Degrees of similarity indicate how closely related two organisms are

  Evolutionary trees are diagrams that show the evolutionary relatedness of different species over time