Nucleic acids are assembled in the _____ direction.


Here is the answer to Nucleic acids are assembled in the _____ direction.

Nucleic acids are assembled in the _____ direction.

  • Below are the answer and explanations.

Molecular size and composition

Nucleic acid molecules are usually very large. In fact, DNA molecules are probably the largest known single biological molecules. However, there are also relatively small nucleic acid molecules.

Nucleic acid molecules range in size from 21 nucleotides (small interfering RNA) to large chromosomes (a human chromosome is a single molecule containing 247 million base pairs).

Complete hydrolysis of nucleic acids yields a mixture of basic substances such as purines and pyrimidines, pentose (ribose or deoxyribose), and phosphate. Partial hydrolysis of nucleic acids produces nucleic acids and nucleotides. Each nucleoside molecule contains one molecule of base and one molecule of pentose, and the partial hydrolysis of one molecule of nucleotide produces one molecule of phosphate in addition to the nucleoside.

DNA and RNA contain the same ribose, DNA contains deoxyribose, while RNA contains ribose. In addition, there are differences in the bases contained in DNA and RNA: both DNA and RNA contain adenine, cytosine, and guanine, but DNA does not contain uracil, only thymine.

The sugars and phosphates in nucleic acids are linked to each other by phosphodiester bonds in alternating chains (sugar-phosphate backbone). The carbon to which the phosphate group is attached is the 3′-end of the sugar, and the carbon bound to the carbon atom is the 5′-end, which creates the orientation of the nucleic acid. Nucleobases are attached to sugars by N-glycosidic bonds.

Non-standard nucleobases are also found in RNA and DNA, and they are usually derived from standard nucleobases within the DNA molecule or modifications of the initial RNA transcript. Transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules contain a particularly high number of modified nucleosides.

Naturally occurring DNA molecules are in most cases double-stranded, while RNA molecules are single-stranded. However, there are many exceptions. Some viruses have genomes composed of double-stranded RNA, while others have single-stranded DNA genomes and, in some cases, can form nucleic acid structures with three or four strands.

Correct Answer

Here is the correct answer to Nucleic acids are assembled in the _____ direction.

  • 5′ to 3′

Nucleic acids are assembled in the 5′ to 3’direction.

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