DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid are two chemical substances involved
in transmitting genetic information from parent to offspring. It was known early
into the 20th century that chromosomes, the genetic material of cells, contained
. In 1944, Oswald T. Avery, Colin M. MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty concluded
that DNA was the basic genetic component of chromosomes. Later, RNA would be
proven to regulate protein synthesis. (Miller, 139)
DNA is the genetic material found in most viruses and in all cellular organisms.
Some viruses do not have DNA, but contain RNA instead. Depending on the organism,
most DNA is found within a single chromosome like bacteria, or in several
chromosomes ...
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four nitrogenous bases. The first two,
adenine and guanine, are double-ringed purine compounds. The others, cytosine
and thymine, are single-ringed pyrimidine compounds. (Miller, 141) Four types of
DNA nucleotides can be formed, depending on which nitrogenous base is involved.
The phosphate group of each nucleotide bonds with a carbon from the deoxyribose.
This forms what is called a polynucleotide chain. James D. Watson and Francis
Crick proved that most DNA consists of two polynucleotide chains that are
twisted together into a coil, forming a double helix. Watson and Crick also
discovered that in a double helix, the pairing between bases of the two chains
is highly specific. Adenine is always linked to thymine by two hydrogen bonds,
and guanine is always linked to cytosine by three hydrogen bonds. This is known
as base pairing. (Miller, 143)
The DNA of an organism provides two main functions. The first function is to
provide for protein synthesis, allowing growth and development ...
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involved in a process called protein
synthesis. Without RNA, this process could not be completed. RNA is the genetic
material of some viruses. RNA molecules are like DNA. They have a long chain of
macromolecules made up of nucleotides. Each RNA nucleotide is also made up of
three basic parts. There is a sugar called ribose, and at one end of the sugar
is the phosphate group, and at the other end is one of several nitrogenous bases.
There are four main nitrogenous bases found in RNA. There are the double-ringed
purine compounds adenine and guanine, and there is the single-ringed pyrimidine
compounds of uracil and cytosine. (Miller, 146)
RNA replication is much like that of DNA�s. In RNA ...
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DNA. (2005, August 8). Retrieved November 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/DNA/31356
"DNA." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 8 Aug. 2005. Web. 28 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/DNA/31356>
"DNA." Essayworld.com. August 8, 2005. Accessed November 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/DNA/31356.
"DNA." Essayworld.com. August 8, 2005. Accessed November 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/DNA/31356.
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