Significance of Directionality
Directionality of RNA and DNA
- When nucleotides are linked together to form nucleic acids, such as RNA and DNA, the phosphate groups form a bridge between carbon-3 of one sugar molecule and carbon-5 of the next one
- This means that each polynucleotide strand has a 3' end where the OH group is located on carbon-3 of the sugar molecule and a 5' end containing the phosphate group on carbon-5
- In a DNA molecule, one strand runs from 5' to 3' while the other strand runs from 3' to 5'
- This is why the two strands are said to be antiparallel
- The directionality of polynucleotide strands plays an important role in the processes of:
- DNA replication
- Transcription
- Translation
- During transcription, the genetic code on one of the DNA strands (the coding strand) is transcribed into a strand of mRNA
- The coding strand is always read in the 3' to 5' direction by enzymes which will synthesise the mRNA strand in the 5' to 3' direction
- The mRNA will move into the cytoplasm of the cell, where ribosomes will translate the transcribed code in the 5' to 3' direction
- The base sequence of the genetic code will determine the specific order of the amino acids in the polypeptide chain created during translation
- Directionality in RNA and DNA are therefore crucially important to ensure that the genetic code is copied, transcribed and translated correctly