NUCLEIC ACIDS

NUCLEIC ACIDS

Q.        What are nucleic acids?

Ans:    Nucleic acids are biopolymers of high molecular weight

with repeating unit mononucleotide.

Q. What are major types of nucleic acids?

Ans:    Nucleic acids are found in two basic structural form.

(i)      Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

(ii)      Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

Q.        What are nucleotides?

Ans:    Nucleotides are monomers and each of which consists of a

pentose sugar, a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group.

Q.        What types of nitrogen bases are present?

Ans:    There are two types of nitrogenous bases.

(i)      Purines = having two rings i.e., a linked five membered and six membered ring. They include adenine & guanine.

(ii)      Pyrimidines = only one ring which is six membered. It includes cytosine, thiamine & uracil.

Q. Which type of sugars are found in nucleic acids?

 

Ans:    Two types of sugars are found in nucleic acid

(i)      Ribose sugars

(ii)      Deoxyribose sugar.

Q. How different nucleotides are linked together in nucleic acids?

Ans:    Nucleotides are linked together by phosphodiester bond

formed between a sugar molecule of one and phosphate molecule of other nucleotide.

Q. Where DNA and RNA occur in cell?

Ans:    Over 98% of total DNA in Eukaryotic cell is found in

nucleus while RNA occurs in multiple forms and is present both in nucleus & many other cell organelles.