Deoxyribonucleic acid structures

Watson J D and Crick F H C 1953 Genetical implications of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid Nature 171 964-7... 

Nucleic acids are acidic substances present m the nuclei of cells and were known long before anyone suspected they were the primary substances involved m the storage transmission and processing of genetic information There are two kinds of nucleic acids ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) Both are complicated biopolymers based on three structural units a carbohydrate a phosphate ester linkage between carbohydrates and a heterocyclic aromatic compound The heterocyclic aro matic compounds are referred to as purine and pyrimidine bases We 11 begin with them and follow the structural thread... 

Adding nucleotides to the 3 oxygen of an existing structure is called elongation and leads ultimately to a polynucleotide The most important polynucleotides are ribonu cleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) As we shall see m later sections the polynucleotide chains of DNA and some RNAs are quite long and contain hundreds of thousands of bases... 

Liquid Crystalline Structures. In certain ceUular organeUes, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) occurs in a concentrated form. Striking similarities between the optical properties derived from the underlying supramolecular organization of the concentrated DNA phases and those observed in chiral nematic textures have been described (36). Concentrated aqueous solutions of nucleic acids exhibit a chiral nematic texture in vitro (29,37). 

Cytosine was isolated from hydrolysis of calf thymus in 1894 and by 1903 its structure was known and it had been synthesized from 2-ethylthiopyrimidin-4(3H)-one. The acid hydrolysis of ribonucleic acid gives nucleotides, among which are two cytidylic acids, 2 -and 3 -phosphates of cytidine further hydrolysis gives cytidine itself, i.e. the 1-/3-D-ribofuranoside of cytosine, and thence cytosine. The deoxyribonucleic acids likewise yield deoxyribonucleotides, including cytosine deoxyribose-5 -phosphate, from which the phosphate may be removed to give cytosine deoxyriboside and thence cytosine. 

Watson, J.D., Crick, F.H.C. Genetic implications of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid. Nature 171 964-967, 1953. 

True to their word, Watson and Crick followed up their April 25 paper with another on May 30. This second paper, "Genetical Implications of the Structure of Deoxyribonucleic Acid," outlines a mechanism for DNA replication that is still accepted as essentially correct. 

DMF, see Dimethylformamide DM SO, see Dimethyl sulfoxide DMT (dimethoxytrilyl ether), DNA synthesis and, 1114 DNA, see Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA fingerprinting, 1118-1119 reliability of, 1119 STR loci and, 1118 Dopamine, molecular model of. 930 Double bond, electronic structure of, 16... 

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a very important biopolymer with the function of storage and transmission of genetic information. In this reason the protection of structural integrity and functional activity of DNA is essential for the viability of living systems, as well as the effectiveness of laboratory DNA-technics. 

Although pyridines and quinolines were first produced during the carbonization of coal, they are now available by synthesis in quantities that far exceed those by the former. Phosphorylated ribosides of hydroxylated and aminated pyrimidines and purines make up the basic structure of ribonucleic and deoxyribonucleic acids. The polycyclic oxaarenes are plant metabolites, while thiaarenes are primarily important components of high-sulfur petroleum that must be removed. 

Since the discovery of the double hehcal structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by Watson and Crick in 1953 [1], there has been considerable belief that the canonical right-handed B-DNA may adopt a wide range of different conformations depending on the nucleotide sequences and environmental conditions. This speculation turned out to be a reahty [2-10]. hi hving systems, the conformational flexibility of DNA resides primarily in the polymorphs of the DNA double hehx (including right-handed and left-handed double hehcal DNA) and occurs under various environmental conditions [4j. The main family of DNA forms identified, based on circular dichroic and... 

Hydrogen bonding plays a critical role in the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the carrier of the genetic code and the molecule that is essential for all life on Earth. 

The nucleus contains bundles of a fibrous material known as chromatin, which is made up of mixed proteins and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the substance that carries the genetic information of the living organism of which the cell is a component. All cells replicate by division. When a cell replicates, DNA in the chromatin of the nucleus passes the genetic information from one generation to the next one. As the cell divides, the chromatin clusters into rodlike structures known as chromo-... 

The discovery of the base-paired, double-helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) provides the theoretic framework for determining how the information coded into DNA sequences is replicated and how these sequences direct the synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins. Already clinical medicine has taken advantage of many of these discoveries, and the future promises much more. For example, the biochemistry of the nucleic acids is central to an understanding of virus-induced diseases, the immune re-sponse, the mechanism of action of drugs and antibiotics, and the spectrum of inherited diseases. 

A detailed discussion of the modes of occurrence and biological importance of the polynucleotides is outside the scope of this article. However, in examining the structures of polynucleotides, it is necessary to take into consideration the origins of the materials studied. The pioneer researches of Caspersson114 indicated that deoxyribonucleic acids are present exclusively in the nucleus, whereas ribonucleic acids are found chiefly in the cytoplasm and only to a small extent in the nucleus. This general outline of the distribution of nucleic acids within the cell has been confirmed and extended by more recent work,116 and it has been possible to isolate both types of nucleic acid from different cellular fractions of the same tissue.116... 

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