nucleic-aids中国医科大学-核酸-生物化学-英文.pptVIP

Chapter 3Structures and Functions of Nucleic Acids Nucleic acid A biopolymer composed of nucleotides linked in a linear sequential order through 3’,5’ phosphodiester bonds Classification of nucleic acid Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is composed of ribonucleotides. in nuclei and cytoplasm participate in the gene expression Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is composed of deoxyribonucleotides. 90% in nuclei and the rest in mitochondria store and carry genetic information; determine the genotype of cells Interesting history 1944: proved DNA is genetic materials (Avery et al.) 1953: discovered DNA double helix (Watson and Crick) 1968: decoded the genetic codes (Nirenberg) 1975: discovered reverse transcriptase (Temin and Baltimore) 1981: invented DNA sequencing method (Gilbert and Sanger) 1985: invented PCR technique (Mullis) 1987: launched the human genome project 1994: HGP in China 2001: accomplished the draft map of human genome Section 1Chemical Components of Nucleic Acids Nucleic acid derivatives Nucleic acid derivatives Nucleic acid derivatives Biologically active systems containing ribonucleotide: NAD+, NADP+, CoA-SH Section 2 Structures and Functions of Nucleic Acids  § 2.1 Primary Structure § 2.2 Secondary structure The secondary structure is defined as the relative spatial position of all the atoms of nucleotide residues. § 2.2.a Chargaff’s rules The base composition of DNA generally varies from one species to another. DNA isolated from different tissues of the same species have the same base composition. The base composition of DNA in a given species does not change with its age, nutritional state, and environmental variations. The molarity of A equals to that of T, and the molarity of G is equal to that of C. Molarity of bases § 2.2.b Double helix of DNA Two DNA strands coil together around the same axis to form a right-handed double helix (also called duplex). The two strands run in opposite directions, i.e., antiparallel. There are 10 base