Chemical structure

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information and DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information.

DNA is made of four types of nucleotides, containing different nucleobases: the pyrimidines cytosine and thymine, and the purines guanine and adenine. The nucleotides are attached to each other in a chain by bonds between their sugar and phosphate groups, forming a sugar-phosphate backbone. Two of these chains are held together by hydrogen bonding between complementary bases; the chains coil around each other, forming the DNA double helix.

No comments:

Post a Comment