Nucleic acid
Strings of nucleotides are bonded to form spiraling backbones and assembled into chains of bases or base-pairs selected from the five primary, or canonical, nucleobases.Using amino acids and protein synthesis,[2] the specific sequence in DNA of these nucleobase-pairs helps to keep and send coded instructions as genes.In RNA, base-pair sequencing helps to make new proteins that determine most chemical processes of all life forms.[9] Experimental studies of nucleic acids constitute a major part of modern biological and medical research, and form a foundation for genome and forensic science, and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.[10][11][12] The term nucleic acid is the overall name for DNA and RNA, members of a family of biopolymers,[13] and is a type of polynucleotide.[15] The basic component of biological nucleic acids is the nucleotide, each of which contains a pentose sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and a nucleobase.[16] Nucleic acids are also generated within the laboratory, through the use of enzymes[17] (DNA and RNA polymerases) and by solid-phase chemical synthesis.[citation needed] The sugars and phosphates in nucleic acids are connected to each other in an alternating chain (sugar-phosphate backbone) through phosphodiester linkages.[24] In contrast, single-stranded RNA and DNA molecules are not constrained to a regular double helix, and can adopt highly complex three-dimensional structures that are based on short stretches of intramolecular base-paired sequences including both Watson-Crick and noncanonical base pairs, and a wide range of complex tertiary interactions.DNA consists of two long polymers of monomer units called nucleotides, with backbones made of sugars and phosphate groups joined by ester bonds.The code is read by copying stretches of DNA into the related nucleic acid RNA in a process called transcription.Transfer RNA serves as the carrier molecule for amino acids to be used in protein synthesis, and is responsible for decoding the mRNA.
biomoleculesnucleotidesmonomer5-carbon sugarphosphate groupnitrogenous basedeoxyribonucleic acidribonucleic acidribosepolymerdeoxyriboselife-formnucleic acid sequenceprotein synthesisprimary, or canonical, nucleobasesadeninecytosineguaninethymineuracilamino acidsnucleobase-pairsscientistFriedrich MiescherheredityUniversity of TübingenhistonePhoebus LeveneAlbrecht KosselnucleobasesRichard AltmannAstburyAvery–MacLeod–McCarty experimentWatsonbiologicalmedical researchgenomeforensic sciencebiotechnologypharmaceutical industriesbiopolymerspolynucleotidenucleuseukaryoticbacteriaarchaeamitochondriachloroplastsvirusesnucleotidepentose sugarphosphatenucleobaseenzymessolid-phase chemical synthesissmall interfering RNAhuman chromosome 1base pairsdouble-strandeddouble-stranded RNAsingle-stranded DNApolymerspurinepyrimidinepentosenucleosidehydroxyl groupphosphodiesterconventional nomenclaturedirectionalityTransfer RNAWatson-Crick base pairingdouble-helicalhighly complex three-dimensional structuresplasmidsmitochondrial DNAchromosomesRNA splicingGeneticssequence of nucleotidessequencedNational Center for Biotechnology Informationantiparallelgenetic codeMessenger RNARibosomal RNAclasses of RNANucleic acid analoguenucleic acid analoguespeptide nucleic acidmorpholinolocked nucleic acidglycol nucleic acidthreose nucleic acidComparison of nucleic acid simulation softwareHistory of biochemistryHistory of molecular biologyHistory of RNA biologyMolecular biologyNucleic acid methodsNucleic acid metabolismNucleic acid structureNucleic acid thermodynamicsOligonucleotide synthesisQuantification of nucleic acidsBill BrysonA Short History of Nearly EverythingBibcodeAnnual Review of BiochemistryUniversity of California, Los AngelesNational Institutes of HealthUniversity of South CarolinaAnnual Review of Biophysics and Biomolecular StructureNucleosidesDeoxynucleotidesRibonucleic acids non-codingMessenger precursor, heterogenous nuclearmodified MessengerTransfer Ribosomal Transfer-messenger Interferential Micro Small interfering