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Biology AS CIE

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  1. 1-cell-structure
    10 主题
  2. 2-biological-molecules
    19 主题
  3. 3-enzymes
    13 主题
  4. 4-cell-membranes-and-transport
    16 主题
  5. 5-the-mitotic-cell-cycle
    8 主题
  6. 6-nucleic-acids-and-protein-synthesis
    9 主题
  7. 7-transport-in-plants
    11 主题
  8. 8-transport-in-mammals
    16 主题
  9. 9-gas-exchange
    6 主题
  10. 10-infectious-diseases
    6 主题
  11. 11-immunity
    10 主题
课 6, 主题 8
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6-1-structure-of-nucleic-acids-and-replication-of-dna AS the-structure-of-dna

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Exam code:9700

DNA structure

  • The nucleic acid DNA is a polynucleotide—it is made up of many nucleotides bonded together in a long chain

Diagram of a DNA nucleotide showing phosphate group, pentose sugar (deoxyribose), and a nitrogenous base (A, C, G, T) with labelled carbons.
A DNA nucleotide
  • DNA molecules are made up of two polynucleotide strands lying side by side, running in opposite directions

    • The strands are said to be antiparallel

  • Each DNA polynucleotide strand is made up of alternating deoxyribose sugars and phosphate groups bonded together to form the sugar-phosphate backbone

  • These bonds are covalent bonds known as phosphodiester bonds

    • The phosphodiester bonds link the 5-carbon of one deoxyribose sugar molecule to the phosphate group from the same nucleotide

    • The phosphate group is linked by another phosphodiester bond to the 3-carbon of the deoxyribose sugar molecule of the next nucleotide in the strand

    • Each DNA polynucleotide strand is said to have a 3’ end and a 5’ end (these numbers relate to which carbon on the pentose sugar could be bonded with another nucleotide)

    • As the strands run in opposite directions (they are antiparallel), one is known as the 5’ to 3’ strand and the other is known as the 3’ to 5’ strand

  • The nitrogenous bases of each nucleotide project out from the backbone towards the interior of the double-stranded DNA molecule

Diagram of a nucleotide structure, showing phosphate groups, pentose sugars, and nitrogenous bases including thymine, guanine, and adenine.
A single DNA polynucleotide strand showing the positioning of the ester bonds

Hydrogen bonding

  • The two antiparallel DNA polynucleotide strands that make up the DNA molecule are held together by hydrogen bonds between the nitrogenous bases

  • These hydrogen bonds always occur between the same pairs of bases:

    • The purine adenine (A) always pairs with the pyrimidine thymine (T)

      • Two hydrogen bonds are formed between these bases

    • The purine guanine (G) always pairs with the pyrimidine cytosine (C)

      • Three hydrogen bonds are formed between these bases

    • This is known as complementary base pairing

    • These pairs are known as DNA base pairs

Diagram showing DNA structure with nucleotide pairing: adenine-thymine (2 hydrogen bonds) and cytosine-guanine (3 hydrogen bonds), sugar-phosphate backbone.
A section of DNA—two antiparallel DNA polynucleotide strands held together by hydrogen bonds

Double helix

  • DNA is not two-dimensional as seen in the diagram above

  • DNA is described as a double helix

  • This refers to the three-dimensional shape that DNA molecules form

Diagram of DNA structure showing base pairs, antiparallel strands, sugar-phosphate backbone, and double helix; includes key for bases.
DNA molecules form a three-dimensional structure known as a DNA double helix

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Make sure you can:

  • Name the different components of a DNA molecule (sugar-phosphate backbone, nucleotide, complementary base pairs, phosphodiester bonds, hydrogen bonds)

  • Locate these on a diagram

You must know how many hydrogen bonds occur between the different base pairs.

Remember that the bases are complementary so the number of A = the number of T and the number of C = the number of G.

You could be asked to determine how many bases are present in a DNA molecule if given the number of one of the bases.

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