DNA
|
When interested
in a visual representation of structures,
I recommend visiting
a search engine such as Yahoo.
Enter the item you are
interested in, into the search
window, click on the
"Images" tab, then search. |
What is DNA?
Why is DNA so special?
What are genes?
|
DNA
deoxyribonucleic acid
DeoxyriboNucleic
Acid
|
|
|
deoxy ribo nucleic acid
| de |
oxy |
ribose |
a polymer
of mononucleotides |
| without |
oxygen |
a 5 carbon
sugar |
nucleotide |
|
The
5 carbon sugar ribose without
the -OH group
on the #2 Carbon |
a
nucleoside with acidic phosphates |
|
nucleoside
a nitrogenous base
attached to a pentose sugar
nitrogenous bases
of DNA
purines- adenine,
guanine
pyrimidines- thymine,
cytosine |
DNA is polymer
of nucleotides, containing the pentose sugar ribose, without oxygen on
the #2 carbon.
The nucelotides within
a chain are connected to each other by a chemical bond between
the phosphate group
of one nucleotide and the pentose sugar of the other.
DNA usually exists in
a double stranded form. The two chains are connected to each other by
hydrogen bonds between
the nitrogenous bases. |
|
Each chromosome is a long double-stranded
molecule of DNA.
Some sections of a chromosome are
known as genes. Other parts of the chromosome
have no precisely identified function.
They may be important for the timing of gene
utilization and thus the coordination
and orchestration of the genome.
Each gene is a particular length of
DNA which is the raw code for a protein,
or an end product RNA compound.
One protein may be a structural molecule
of the body, such as collagen. Another protein
maybe a mobile molecule, such as albumin.
Other proteins may be enzymes which
function in the assembly of other
types of molecules of the body, such as lipids
and carbohydrates.
