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Nucleic Acids definitions

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  • Nucleic Acid
    A biomolecule polymer responsible for storing and encoding genetic information, composed of nucleotide monomers.
  • Nucleotide
    A monomer unit made of a phosphate group, a pentose sugar, and a nitrogenous base, forming nucleic acid chains.
  • Phosphate Group
    A functional group containing phosphorus, forming part of the nucleotide structure and the nucleic acid backbone.
  • Pentose Sugar
    A five-membered ring sugar found in nucleotides; deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA.
  • Nitrogenous Base
    A molecule rich in nitrogen atoms, classified as purine or pyrimidine, providing genetic code specificity.
  • Phosphodiester Bond
    A covalent linkage joining nucleotides in a nucleic acid, forming the sugar-phosphate backbone.
  • Sugar-Phosphate Backbone
    A repeating chain of sugars and phosphates, providing structural support and directionality to nucleic acids.
  • Directionality
    The orientation of nucleic acid strands, defined by chemically distinct 5' and 3' ends.
  • Deoxyribose
    A pentose sugar lacking one oxygen atom, found in DNA nucleotides.
  • Ribose
    A pentose sugar with a hydroxyl group, present in RNA nucleotides.
  • Purine
    A double-ring nitrogenous base; includes adenine and guanine, pairing with pyrimidines in nucleic acids.
  • Pyrimidine
    A single-ring nitrogenous base; includes cytosine, thymine, and uracil, pairing with purines.
  • Double Helix
    A twisted ladder-like structure formed by two antiparallel DNA strands connected by base pairs.
  • Antiparallel Strands
    Two nucleic acid chains running in opposite 5' to 3' directions, essential for DNA structure.
  • Hydrogen Bond
    A weak interaction stabilizing DNA structure by connecting complementary nitrogenous bases across strands.