What is DNA And Functions of DNA?
DNA And Functions of DNA
Nucleic acid is a naturally occurring chemical molecule that may be broken down to yield phosphoric acid, sugars, and a variety of organic compounds (nucleotide, purines, and pyrimidines).
They are the cell’s principal information-carrying molecules, and by controlling the whole protein production process, they ultimately define the inherited features of every living creature.
Nucleic acids are divided into two types: RNA and DNA. Ribose is the nucleotide base of RNA, whereas uracil and cytosine are the main pyrimidine bases.
The nucleotides in DNA comprise 2-deoxyribose, and thymine and cytosine are the most frequent pyrimidine bases. Adenine and guanine are the major purines for both RNA and DNA.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a polymer made up of 2 polynucleotide chains that coil around one another to create a double helix and carry genetic instructions for all known organisms and viruses’ formation, function, growth, and reproduction.
Nucleic acids include DNA or even ribonucleic acid (RNA). Nucleic acids are among the four major types of macromolecules that are required for all known forms of life, alongside proteins, lipids, and complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides).
Because they are made up of smaller monomeric units called nucleotides, the two DNA strands are known as polynucleotides. Each nucleotide is made up of a sugar termed deoxyribose, a phosphate group, and also one of 4 nitrogenous bases (guanine [G], cytosine [C], adenine [A], or thymine [T]).
Covalent connections between the sugars of one nucleotide as well as the phosphate of the next nucleotide link the nucleotides together in a chain, leading to either an alternate sugar-phosphate backbone.
To produce double-stranded DNA, the nitrogenous bases of two distinct polynucleotide strands are joined together with hydrogen bonds according to base-pairing regulations (A with T and C with G). Pyrimidines and purines are the two types of complementary nitrogenous bases.
Thymine and cytosine are pyrimidines in DNA, while adenine and guanine are purines.
The biological information is stored on both strands of double-stranded DNA. Whenever the two strands separate, the information is replicated. Non-coding DNA makes up a huge portion of DNA (more than 98 percent in humans), which means it does not serve as a pattern for protein sequences.
The two strands of DNA are antiparallel because they run in opposite directions. Each sugar is among 4 kinds of nucleobases attached to it (or bases). The genetic information is encoded by the sequence among these four nucleobases along the backbone.
In a process known as transcription, RNA strands are generated utilizing Stranded DNA as a template, with DNA bases being exchanged for their equivalent bases except for thymine (T), over which RNA replacements uracil (U). These RNA strands dictate the order of amino acids inside proteins in kind of a process known as translation, which is controlled by the genetic code.
DNA is organized into lengthy structures called chromosomes within eukaryotic cells. These chromosomes are replicated in the DNA replication Process before normal cell division, producing a full set of chromosomes for every daughter cell.
The majority of DNA in eukaryotic creatures (animals, plants, fungi, and protists) is stored in each cell nucleus via nuclear DNA, with some stored as mitochondrial DNA or chloroplast DNA. Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), on the other hand, only store their DNA in the cytoplasm, within circular chromosomes.
Chromatin proteins, like histones, compact and order DNA within eukaryotic chromosomes. These compacting structures help control which sections of the DNA get transcribed by guiding the connections between DNA as well as other proteins.
Functions Of DNA
The biological functions of the DNA include,
1. In most species, DNA is the genetic material. As a result, parental qualities are handed down through the generations via DNA.
2. Protein synthesis is how DNA regulates the cell’s metabolic functions. As a result, it is known as the master molecule.
3. A change in genetic information and even mutation occurs as a result of a mistake during DNA replication. Mutations are the building blocks of evolution.
4. The chromosome is made up of DNA and the protein histone.
