The particles in the nucleus of the cell, responsible for heredity, are called chromosomes which are made up of proteins and another type of biomolecules called nucleic acids. These are mainly of two types, DNA and RNA. Nucleic acids on hydrolysis yield a pentose sugar, phosphoric acid and nitrogen containing heterocyclic compound. Nucleic acids have a very diverse set of functions, such as cell creation, the storage and processing of genetic information, protein synthesis and the generation of energy cells. Although their functions may differ, the structure of DNA and RNA are very similar, with only a few fundamental differences in their molecular make-up. Based on the above information, answer the following questions: (a) Write two functions of DNA.
Nucleic acids are explained as long-chain polymeric molecules, where the monomer (the repeating unit) is referred to as the nucleotides. Thus many times nucleic acids are referred to as polynucleotides. The two main kinds of nucleic acids are-
Chemically, DNA is a composition of a pentose sugar, phosphoric acid, and some cyclic bases that have nitrogen in them. DNA has β-D-2-deoxyribose in it, in the form of the sugar moiety.
The RNA molecule is a composition of phosphoric acid, a pentose sugar, and some cyclic bases containing nitrogen. The sugar moiety inside RNA molecules is β-D-ribose.