DNA
DNA stands for Deoxy Ribonucleic Acid, and it is the molecule that’s located at the nucleus of a human cell. Its main job is to store and code the genetic information of the body. For most of the life cycle of a cell, the DNA is located inside the nucleus of the cell like a coiled noodle. But during the time, when the cell replicates, the DNA is arranged in the form of structures that are known as Chromosomes. These chromosomes help keep the DNA stable during the time of cell replication. Now most of us are probably familiar with the double helix model of the DNA, you must’ve seen it in movies, pictures, or books. The double helix model basically demonstrates that DNA is a polymer. Now if we want to understand the structure of DNA in a clearer way, we have to understand the definition of a polymer.
DNA As A Polymer
Now, the polymer is basically a molecule, which consists of many repeating units that are called monomers. Now take, for example, a simple polymer like starch, in this case, the repeating monomeric units are known as glucose. These glucose molecules are joined together by glycosidic bonds and they form the polymer that is known as starch. In a similar wat DNA is also a polymer, and in the case of DNA, the monomeric units that form it are called nucleotides. The basic structure of a nucleotide is the one shown below.
As you can see, it consists of three important groups – phosphate, sugar, and a nitrogenous base. The sugar present inside the nucleotide is called Deoxyribose, which is a five-carbon sugar that belongs to the pentoses. The phosphate group consists of a phosphorus ion, to which four oxygen atoms are attached. Then we have the important nitrogenous bases, they are organic molecules that contain nitrogen in the form of ringed structures.
There are four different types of bases that can be present inside the molecule DNA, they are Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Thymine. Now since there are four different types of nitrogenous bases, there are four different types of nucleotides that are present inside the structure of the DNA.
What is DNA and How Does it Work?
These four nucleotides are arranged in two groups. The first group is known as pyrimidines, they contain the nitrogenous bases thymine and cytosine, which are both single-ringed bases. The second group contains the nucleotides which are known as purines, they have adenine and guanine as nitrogenous bases, which are double-ringed structures.
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The Structure and Function of DNA
The structure is pretty simple in the case of starch. It only just contains either long and linear chains of glucose or branched chains that are joined together by glycosidic bonds. But now, in the case of DNA, the four types of nucleotides are joined together in a very complex way to form the double helix structure. Now is we were to zoom into this model of the double helix structured DNA.
We can clearly see that it basically consists of these two blue lines that are twisted around each other. It also has these other lines in the center, that connect the blue lines together. Now to understand it better, if we untwist the model, we will get something that is known as the step ladder model of the DNA.
It has a similar structure and consists of these blue vertical lines and the other lines in the middle that connect them. These blue vertical lines represent the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA and the lines in the center represent the base pairs in the DNA.
How Are Two Nucleotides Joined Together?
The cards present inside the deoxyribose sugar of the DNA are numbered from 1 to 5 in the clockwise direction. The third carbon in every deoxyribose sugar forms a bond with the phosphate group of another nucleotide that is present below it. Now, this bonding extends in both directions. Basically, every phosphate is connected to two sugars, one bond with the third carbon of the sugar above and one bond with the fifth carbon of the sugar below. Now due to the bond formation between the sugar and the phosphates, there is a sort of sugar-phosphate backbone created on one side. This essentially represents a single strand of DNA.
This makes us understand how the different nucleotides in a single strand of DNA are connected to join the sugar-phosphate backbone represented by the blue lines in the structure. And the lines in the center are essentially the base pairs from one side. On the opposite side, we have the other strand of the DNA, which might be similar to this original strand but has some key important differences. To understand these differences, we need to know the concepts of directionality and complementary base pairing.
Definition of DNA
The end-to-end chemical orientation of a single strand of nucleic acid is known as directionality. The direction of the DNA is expressed in two ways, 5’ to 3’ or 3’ to 5’. If we look at the DNA strand, we can see that it has a 5’ end to which a phosphate group is attached and it also has a 3’ end below to which a hydroxyl group is attached. If we go back to the original strand, we can see that it runs in a 5’ to 3’ direction. The opposite strand is similar but with one key difference, it runs in a completely opposite direction, that is 3’ to 5’. This tells us that the two strands of DNA are anti-parallel.
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Medical Definition of DNA
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Now the complementary base pairing is the manner in which the different nitrogenous bases of the DNA molecules align with each other. Basically, the base Adenine pairs always with the base Thymine and the base Guanine always pairs with Cytosine. You can see this in the step-ladder structure above, the base A always pairs with base T, and the base C pairs with the base G. These bases are essentially forming the hydrogen bonds in the center that holds these two strands of the DNA together. Complementary base pairing is important because it maintains the proper distance between the two strands of the DNA. This is very important for the stability of the two strands of DNA.
Conclusion
This was all about DNA, its basic structure, and its functions. We hope you found it helpful, and if you want to learn more about DNA and all its other components, follow the online educational website, you will definitely find what you’re looking for.
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