The order of the A, T, G, and C nucleotides that make up your DNA is like a four-letter language that spells out instructions for how the cells in your body should operate. Nitrogenous bases pair together in a very specific way: Adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T), and guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C). How Does the Structure of DNA Store Information? It is the only part of a DNA nucleotide that varies from building block to building block. The nitrogenous base is a molecule named for the fact that it contains nitrogen.
#Building blocks of dna full
The sugar found in the nucleotides of DNA is called deoxyribose, hence the full name of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Nucleotides may contain one of several different types of sugar molecules. The sugar molecule is exactly what it sounds like-a type of sugar, just like the ones that we eat in our diets. Phosphate groups are identical across all nucleotides. The phosphate group is a cluster of specific atoms named for the fact that it contains phosphorus. What Is the Structure of a Nucleotide?Įvery nucleotide is made of three basic components: a phosphate group, a five-carbon sugar molecule, and a nitrogenous base. A type of covalent bond, known as a phosphodiester bond, forms between the 5’ phosphate group of one nucleotide and the 3’-hydroxyl (3’-OH) group of the adjacent nucleotide. On a molecular level, every piece of DNA is a long chain of nucleotides joined together end-to-end, like links in a chain. The building blocks of nucleic acids are called nucleotides. Today many of us are familiar with DNA’s spiral staircase or twisted ladder shape, consisting of sugar-phosphate sides and base pair rungs.
It wasn’t until 1953 that two scientists, by the names of James Watson and Francis Crick, described the double helix in a landmark paper published in 1953. The double helical structure of DNA eluded generations of scientists since the discovery of the basic principles of genetics in the 1800s. The structure of a DNA molecule is the famous double helix, which was one of the greatest scientific discoveries of modern times.
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