Mononucleotides: Structure
- Both DNA and RNA are polymers that are made up of many repeating units called nucleotides
- Each nucleotide is formed from:
- A pentose sugar (a sugar with 5 carbon atoms)
- A nitrogen-containing organic base
- A phosphate group
The basic structure of a mononucleotide
DNA nucleotides
- The components of a DNA nucleotide are:
- A deoxyribose sugar with hydrogen at the 2' position
- A phosphate group
- One of four nitrogenous bases - adenine (A), cytosine(C), guanine(G) or thymine(T)
RNA nucleotides
- The components of an RNA nucleotide are:
- A ribose sugar with a hydroxyl (OH) group at the 2' position
- A phosphate group
- One of four nitrogenous bases - adenine (A), cytosine(C), guanine(G) or uracil (U)
- The presence of the 2' hydroxyl group makes RNA more susceptible to hydrolysis
- This is why DNA is the storage molecule and RNA is the transport molecule with a shorter molecular lifespan
RNA nucleotide compared with an DNA nucleotide
Purines & Pyrimidines
- The nitrogenous base molecules that are found in the nucleotides of DNA (A, T, C, G) and RNA (A, U, C, G) occur in two structural forms: purines and pyrimidines
- The bases adenine and guanine are purines – they have a double ring structure
- The bases cytosine, thymine and uracil are pyrimidines – they have a single ring structure
The molecular structure of each base is different, depending on whether they are a purine or pyrimidine