Question

What products would be formed when DNA is hydrolyzed? How is DNA different from RNA with reference to structure?

Answer 1

When DNA is hydrolyzed, the products formed are nucleotides. The hydrolysis breaks the phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides, resulting in the formation of individual nucleotide units. DNA is different from RNA in that DNA contains deoxyribose as the sugar, while RNA contains ribose. Additionally, DNA is double-stranded and forms a double helix, whereas RNA is single-stranded. DNA uses thymine as a nitrogenous base, while RNA uses uracil in place of thymine.

Answer 2

A nucleoside consists of a nitrogenous base (purine or pyrimidine) and a sugar (ribose or de- oxyribose), but it lacks a phosphate group. A nucleotide, on the other hand, consists of a nucleoside with one or more phosphate groups attached to the sugar molecule. The presence of a phosphate group makes the nucleotide a key component of nucleic acids.

Answer 3

Two important functions of nucleic acids are: 1. Nucleic acids store and transmit genetic infor- mation in the form of DNA. 2. RNA plays a key role in protein synthesis, acting as a messenger between DNA and the ribosome.

Answer 4

The linkage that joins two nucleotides is the phosphodiester bond, which connects the 3’ carbon of one sugar molecule to the 5’ carbon of the next sugar molecule. The base that is found in RNA but not in DNA is uracil (U), which replaces thymine (T) in RNA.