THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF INHERITANCE
STRUCTURE OF NUCLEIC ACIDS
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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carbon/hydrogen
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oxygen
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phosphorus
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nitrogen
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sulfur
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Detailed explanation-1: -Nucleic acids contain the same elements as proteins: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen; plus phosphorous (C, H, O, N, and P). Nucleic acids are very large macromolecules composed of repetitive units of the same building blocks, nucleotides, similar to a pearl necklace made of many pearls.
Detailed explanation-2: -The five-carbon sugar ring and the content of the nitrogenous base between DNA and RNA are slightly different from each other. Four different types of nitrogenous bases are found in DNA: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). In RNA, the thymine is replaced by uracil (U).
Detailed explanation-3: -In the 1920’s nucleic acids were found to be major components of chromosomes, small gene-carrying bodies in the nuclei of complex cells. Elemental analysis of nucleic acids showed the presence of phosphorus, in addition to the usual C, H, N & O. Unlike proteins, nucleic acids contained no sulfur.
Detailed explanation-4: -Nitrogen is in all amino acids and nucleotides, and therefore in all proteins and nucleic acids.