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| Nucleic Acids |
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| Nucleic acids are giant macromolecules having a complex structure and very high molecular weight. They are polymers of nucleotides and hence, described as polynucleotides. |
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| There are two types of nucleic acids found in a cell, namely deoxy ribose nucleic acid (DNA) and ribose nucleic acid (RNA). |
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| In a nucleic acid molecule, the phosphate component attached to the 5th carbon of one nucleotide forms a linkage with the next nucleotide at the 3rd carbon. This linkage is called phospho-diester linkage and the bond formed is called phospho-diester bond. These 3-5 phospho-diester bonds provide considerable rigidity to the polynucleotide chain. |
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| fig. 14.7 - Structure of a Dinucleotide |
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