Essentials of Molecular Biology

1

Nucleic Acids

CONCEPT OUTLINE

• Introduction
• DNA and RNA as Genetic Materials
  • DNA
  • RNA
• Structure of Nucleic Acids
  • The chemical nature of DNA and RNA
  • Keto-Enol tautomerism of the nitrogenous bases
  • Nucleosides
  • Pyrimidines exist entirely in the anti-conformation
  • Chargaff rule
  • Nucleotides
  • The primary structure of DNA
  • Watson and Crick model of DNA – secondary structure of DNA
  • The DNA grooves
  • DNA conformations
  • B-DNA
  • A-DNA
  • Z-DNA
  • Triple standard DNA
  • Cruciforms or Holliday junction
  • Tertiary structure
• Properties of the DNA
  • Physical properties of the DNA
  • Chemical stabibility of nucleic acids
• DNA Topology
  • Linking, twisting and writhing
  • Topoisomerases
• Types of RNA
• Types of DNA
  • The chromosomal DNA
  • The autosomal DNA
  • Y-DNA
  • Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) ...