Deoxyribonucleic acids tertiary structure

The quinolones and fluoroquinolones are thought to act on the bacterial enzyme deoxyribonucleic acid gyrase (DNA gyrase). This enzyme catalyses the supercoiling of chromosomal DNA into its tertiary structure. A consequence of this is that replication and transcription are inhibited and the bacterial cell s genetic code remains unread. At present, the mechanism by which these agents inhibit DNA gyrase is unclear. 

How do DNA and RNA differ DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid) are the two kinds of nucleic acids. DNA contains the sugar deoxyribose, but RNA has ribose in the same position. The difference in the sugars gives rise to differences in their secondary and tertiary structures. The primary structure of nucleic acids is the order of bases in the polynucleotide sequence, and the secondary structure is the three-dimensional conformation of the backbone. The tertiary structure is specifically the supercoUing of the molecule. 

J. Bernard and G. F. Riou, In vivo effects of intercalating and nonintercalating drugs on the tertiary structure of kinetoplast deoxyribonucleic acid, Biochem., 1980, 19, 4197-4178. 

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