DNA

STRUCTURE
AND
FUNCTION
DEOXY RIBOSE NUCLEIC
ACID (DNA)
• In 1869, Friedrich Meischer was the first person
who separated cell nuclei from the cytoplasm and
extracted an acidic material, nuclein, from the
nuclei of pus cells.
• He found that the acidic material contained
unusually large amounts of
phosphorous and no sulphur.
• Later on in 1889, Richard Altmann used the term
nucleic acid in place of nuclein.
• Nucleic acids were found to be associated with
various proteins called
nucleoproteins.
• There are two types of nucleic acids viz.,
 Deoxy ribose Nucleic acid (DNA) and
 Ribose Nucleic acid (RNA).
• DNA is the genetic material in most of the
organisms.
• RNA acts as genetic material only in some viruses.
• DNA is mainly found in the chromosomes in the
nucleus, while RNA is mostly found in the
ribosomes in the cytoplasm.
• Levene showed that nucleic acid can be broken
into smaller molecules called nucleotides.

• Each nucleotide consists of a sugar, phosphate

group and a nitrogenous
base.

• The combination of nitrogenous base and sugar

without the phosphate group is called nucleoside
(riboside and deoxyriboside)

• where as the combination of nitrogenous base,

sugar and the phosphate group is called
nucleotide (ribotide and deoxyribotide)

 nucleotide = nucleoside + phosphate

• The 5-carbon (pentose) sugar could be either ribose
as in case of RNA
or deoxyribose in case of DNA.

• Associated with each sugar is a nitrogenous

base with one or two carbon–nitrogen rings.

• Bases containing one carbon–nitrogen ring are called

pyrimidines.

• The common pyrimidines present in DNA are

thymine(T) and cytosine (C), while in case of
RNA pyrimidine base thymine(T) is replaced by
uracil(U).

• Bases containing two carbon-nitrogen rings are

called purines.

• The common purines present in nucleic acids are

adenine (A) and
guanine(G).
Purine Bases
Adenine and guanine are purines. Purines are the
larger of the two types of bases found in DNA
Structures are shown below:

Structure of A and G

The 9 atoms that make up the fused rings (5

carbon, 4 nitrogen) are numbered 1-9. All ring
atoms lie in the same plane.
Pyrimidine Bases
Cytosine and thymine are pyrimidines. The 6
stoms (4 carbon, 2 nitrogen) are numbered 1-6.
Like purines, all pyrimidine ring atoms lie in the
same plane:-

Structure of C and T
Deoxyribose
Sugar
 The deoxyribose sugar of the DNA backbone has 5
carbons and 3
oxygens.
 The carbon atoms are numbered 1', 2', 3', 4', and 5'
to distinguish from the numbering of the atoms of
the purine and pyrmidine rings.
 The hydroxyl groups on the 5'- and 3'- carbons
link to the phosphate groups to form the DNA
backbone.
 Deoxyribose lacks an hydroxyl group at the 2'-
position when compared to ribose, the sugar
component of RNA.
 Structure of deoxyribose
Differences between pyrimidines
and purines

Pyrimidines Purines
• These are single • These are double
ring (six ring (nine
member)compoun member)compounds
ds. .
• They are of three • They are of two
types, viz., cytosine, types, viz., adenine
thymine and uracil. and guanine.
• They occupy less • They occupy more
space in space in
DNA structure. DNA structure.
• Deoxyribose is • Deoxyribose is
linked at linked at
position 3 of position 9 of
pyrimidine. purine.
The DNA Double
Helix
• Taking into account the facts known at that time
Watson and Crick in 1953 proposed a “double
helix” structure of DNA which quickly gained wide
acceptance.

• The DNA molecule consists of two polynucleotide

chains wound around each other in a right-handed
double helix.

• The two strands of a DNA molecule are oriented

anti-parallel to each other and run in opposite
directions.

• The sugar-phosphate backbones of the two DNA

strands wind around the helix axis like the railing
of a spiral staircase.

• The bases of the individual nucleotides are on the

inside of the helix, stacked on top of each other
like the steps of a spiral staircase.

• Within the DNA double helix, A forms 2 hydrogen

bonds with T on the opposite strand, and G forms 3
hydrogen bonds with C on the opposite strand.
J. D. Wtson and F. H. C. Crick proposed
structure of DNA “Double Helix” in 1953
and for that they were awarded by Nobel
Prize 1962.
 It contains two polynucleotide
strands wound
around each other.
The backbone of each consists
of alternating deoxyribose and
phosphate groups.
The phosphate group bonded to the
5' carbon atom of one deoxyribose is
covalently bonded to the 3' carbon of
the next.
The two strands are "antiparallel“
; that is, one strand runs 5′ to 3′
while the other runs 3′ to 5′.
The DNA strands are assembled in
the 5′ to 3′ direction [More] and, by
convention, we "read" them the same
way.
The purine or pyrimidine
attached to each deoxyribose
projects in toward the axis of the
helix.
Each base forms hydrogen bonds
with the one directly opposite it,
forming base pairs (also called
nucleotide pairs).
 3.4 Å separate the planes in which
adjacent base
pairs are located.
The double helix makes a complete
turn in just over 10 nucleotide pairs,
so each turn takes a little more (35.7
Å to be exact) than the 34 Å.
 A forms 2 hydrogen
bonds with T on the
opposite strand

G forms 3 hyrdorgen
bonds with C on the
opposite strand.
A B & Z forms
of DNA
• In a DNA molecule, the two strands are not parallel,
but intertwined with each other. Each strand looks
like a helix. The two strands form a "double helix"
structure, which was first discovered by James D.
Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.
• In this structure, also known as the B form.
• In a solution with higher salt concentrations or with
alcohol added, the DNA structure may change to an
A form.
• Which is still right-handed, but every 2.3 nm makes
a turn and there
are 11 base pairs per turn.
• Another DNA structure is called the Z form.
Because its bases seem to zigzag. Z DNA is left-
handed. One turn spans 4.6 nm, comprising 12 base
pairs. The DNA molecule with alternating G-C
sequences in alcohol or high salt solution tends to
have such structure.
Figure 3-B-3. The
Figure 3-B-4. Comparison
normal right- handed
"double helix" structure between B form and Z
of DNA, also known as form.
the B form.
 Comparison of B-DNA
and Z-DNA
Characteristi B-DNA Z-DNA
c
Coiling Right handed Left handed
Pitch 340 A 450 A
Base pairs / 10.4 12.4
pitch
Diameter ~ 20 0 A ~ 180 A
Rise per base 3.40 A 3.70 A
pair
Sugar – Regular Zigzag
phospha
(Pitch – The length of the helix required to complete
one turn)
te
backbon
Denaturation: The hydrogen bonds between the DNA
strands break on heating the DNA to high temperature
e
(nearly 100oC). The process of separation of DNA strands
is known as denaturation.
Renaturation: Reunion of the separated or denatured DNA
strands on cooling is called renaturation or annealing. The
optimum temperature for renaturation is 20 – 25oC.
 The DNA molecule satisfies the requirement of
genetic material
in the following ways:-

1. It can replicate itself accurately during cell

growth and division.

2. Its structure is sufficiently stable so that

heritable charges i.e.,
mutations can occur only very rarely.

3.It has a potential to carry all kinds of

necessary biological information.

4. It transmits all the biological information to the

daughter cells.

Thus the essential functions of DNA are

the storage and transmission of genetic
information and the expression of this
information in the form of synthesis of
cellular proteins.
THA
NK
YO
U