Biochemical Engineering Fundamentals, Part 1 - Bailey J., Ollis D. 1989

The Chemical Basis of Life
Sugars and Polysaccharides
From Nucleotides to RNA and DNA

The informational biopolymer DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) contains all of The Cell's Genetic information. Upon division, each daughter cell inherits at least one complete copy of the parental DNA, allowing the offspring to retain all the morphological and functional characteristics inherent to the species. Genetic information in DNA is stored as a sequence of the nucleotide residues that make up its polymer chain. The Mechanism of information transfer and The Role of METABOLISM/36.html">DNA Replication in the Cell Cycle, as well as Other Aspects of cellular regulation, will be discussed in Chapter 6. Here, we will examine the Chemistry of Nucleic acid monomers, The Structure of polymeric DNA, and the information encoded within its sequence.

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FIG. 2.7. a — general structure of ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides; b — the five nitrogenous bases that make up DNA and RNA.



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