26.4 Nucleic Acids
26.4 Nucleic Acids
Lesson Objectives
- Identify the functions of DNA and RNA.
- Describe the structure of a single nucleotide and how that structure leads to the overall structure of DNA and
RNA. - Describe how the base sequence of DNA codes for specific amino acids during protein synthesis.
Lesson Vocabulary
- gene
- nucleic acid
- nucleotide
Check Your Understanding
Recalling Prior Knowledge
- What constitutes a hydrogen bond?
- What are amino acids, and how many amino acids are used as the building blocks of proteins?
What is it that makes a frog a frog, a sunflower a sunflower, and a human a human? Genetic material that is passed on
from generation to generation carries the instructions that allow the cells of every organism to produce the specific
proteins that an organism needs. In this lesson, you will learn about nucleic acids, the molecules that perform this
vital function.
DNA and RNA
Swiss biochemist, Friedrich Miescher, first discovered nitrogen-containing compounds in the nuclei of cells in 1869.
The term nucleic acid was used to describe these molecules because they were originally discovered within the
nucleus of a cell, and, in their neutral form, the phosphate groups are attached to acidic hydrogens. Anucleic
acidis a large biopolymer consisting of many nucleotides. The two primary nucleic acids found in living cells
are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). DNA is the carrier of genetic information and is
ultimately responsible for how cells produce proteins in order to carry out all the functions necessary for life. RNA
is a related molecule that is involved in the mechanism by which the information stored in DNA is eventually
converted into protein molecules.