Nucleic Acids
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High molecular weight polymers containing a mixture of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides chained together by ribose or deoxyribose linkages. |
| Notes: |
GEN: prefer RNA & DNA whether Priority 1, 2 or 3 article; |
Nucleic Acids Categories.
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DNA - A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine). |
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Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes - Double-stranded nucleic acid molecules (DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA) which contain regions of nucleotide mismatches (non-complementary). In vivo, these heteroduplexes can result from mutation or genetic recombination; in vitro, they are formed by nucleic acid hybridization. Electron microscopic analysis of the resulting heteroduplexes facilitates the mapping of regions of base sequence homology of nucleic acids. |
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Nucleic Acid Probes - Nucleic acid which complements a specific mRNA or DNA molecule, or fragment thereof; used for hybridization studies in order to identify microorganisms and for genetic studies. |
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Peptide Nucleic Acids - DNA analogs containing neutral amide backbone linkages composed of aminoethyl glycine units instead of the usual phosphodiester linkage of deoxyribose groups. Peptide nucleic acids have high biological stability and higher affinity for complementary DNA or RNA sequences than analogous DNA oligomers. |
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RNA - A polynucleotide consisting essentially of chains with a repeating backbone of phosphate and ribose units to which nitrogenous bases are attached. RNA is unique among biological macromolecules in that it can encode genetic information, serve as an abundant structural component of cells, and also possesses catalytic activity. (Rieger et al., Glossary of Genetics: Classical and Molecular, 5th ed) |
Nucleic Acids Definitions and Terms
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