Class of large biomolecules essential to all known life

Nucleic acid

Nucleic acid

Nucleic acids are <a href="/en/Biopolymer" title="Biopolymer" class="wl">biopolymers</a>, <a href="/en/Macromolecule" title="Macromolecule" class="wl">macromolecules</a>, essential to all <a href="/en/Organism" title="Organism" class="wl">known forms of life</a>.<a href="#cite_note-genome-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> They are composed of <a href="/en/Nucleotide" title="Nucleotide" class="wl">nucleotides</a>, which are the <a href="/en/Monomer" title="Monomer" class="wl">monomer</a> components: a <a href="/en/Pentose" title="Pentose" class="wl">5-carbon sugar</a>, a <a href="/en/Phosphate_group" title="Phosphate group" class="mw-redirect wl">phosphate group</a> and a <a href="/en/Nitrogenous_base" title="Nitrogenous base" class="mw-redirect wl">nitrogenous base</a>. The two main classes of nucleic acids are <a href="/en/Deoxyribonucleic_acid" title="Deoxyribonucleic acid" class="mw-redirect wl">deoxyribonucleic acid</a> (DNA) and <a href="/en/Ribonucleic_acid" title="Ribonucleic acid" class="mw-redirect wl">ribonucleic acid</a> (RNA). If the <a href="/en/Sugar" title="Sugar" class="wl">sugar</a> is <a href="/en/Ribose" title="Ribose" class="wl">ribose</a>, the <a href="/en/Polymer" title="Polymer" class="wl">polymer</a> is RNA; if the sugar is the ribose derivative <a href="/en/Deoxyribose" title="Deoxyribose" class="wl">deoxyribose</a>, the polymer is DNA.

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Class of large biomolecules essential to all known life</div>
<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg/220px-Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="1371" data-file-height="1097" data-file-type="drawing" height="176" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg/330px-Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg/440px-Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg.png 2x" alt="Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg"></a><figcaption>Nucleic acids <a href="/en/RNA" title="RNA" class="wl">RNA</a> (left) and <a href="/en/DNA" title="DNA" class="wl">DNA</a> (right).</figcaption></figure>
Nucleic acids are naturally occurring chemical compounds that serve as the primary information-carrying molecules in cells and make up the genetic material. Nucleic acids are found in abundance in all living things, where they create, encode, and then store information of every living cell of every <a href="/en/Outline_of_life_forms" title="Outline of life forms" class="wl">life-form</a> on Earth. In turn, they function to transmit and express that information inside and outside the cell nucleus to the interior operations of the cell and ultimately to the next generation of each living organism. The encoded information is contained and conveyed via the <a href="/en/Nucleic_acid_sequence" title="Nucleic acid sequence" class="wl">nucleic acid sequence</a>, which provides the 'ladder-step' ordering of nucleotides within the molecules of RNA and DNA. They play an especially important role in directing <a href="/en/Protein_biosynthesis" title="Protein biosynthesis" class="wl">protein synthesis</a>.

Strings of nucleotides are bonded to form helical backbones—typically, one for RNA, two for DNA—and assembled into chains of base-pairs selected from the five <a href="/en/Nucleobase" title="Nucleobase" class="wl">primary, or canonical, nucleobases</a>, which are: <a href="/en/Adenine" title="Adenine" class="wl">adenine</a>, <a href="/en/Cytosine" title="Cytosine" class="wl">cytosine</a>, <a href="/en/Guanine" title="Guanine" class="wl">guanine</a>, <a href="/en/Thymine" title="Thymine" class="wl">thymine</a>, and <a href="/en/Uracil" title="Uracil" class="wl">uracil</a>. Thymine occurs only in DNA and uracil only in RNA. Using <a href="/en/Amino_acid" title="Amino acid" class="wl">amino acids</a> and the process known as <a href="/en/Protein_synthesis" title="Protein synthesis" class="mw-redirect wl">protein synthesis</a>,<a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> the specific sequencing in DNA of these <a href="/en/Base_pair" title="Base pair" class="wl">nucleobase-pairs</a> enables storing and transmitting <a href="/en/Code#Genetic_code" title="Code" class="wl">coded</a> instructions as <a href="/en/Gene" title="Gene" class="wl">genes</a>. In RNA, base-pair sequencing provides for manufacturing new proteins that determine the frames and parts and most chemical processes of all life forms.

Nucleic acids are biopolymers, macromolecules, essential to all known forms of life. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid . If the sugar is ribose, the polymer is RNA; if the sugar is the ribose derivative deoxyribose, the polymer is DNA. Nucleic acids are naturally occurring chemical compounds that serve as the primary information-carrying molecules in cells and make up the genetic material. Nucleic acids are found in abundance in all living things, where they create, encode, and then store information of every living cell of every life-form on Earth. In turn, they function to transmit and express that information inside and outside the cell nucleus to the interior operations of the cell and ultimately to the next generation of each living organism. The encoded information is contained and conveyed via the nucleic acid sequence, which provides the 'ladder-step' ordering of nucleotides within the molecules of RNA and DNA. They play an especially important role in directing protein synthesis. Strings of nucleotides are bonded to form helical backbones—typically, one for RNA, two for DNA—and assembled into chains of base-pairs selected from the five primary, or canonical, nucleobases, which are: adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil. Thymine occurs only in DNA and uracil only in RNA. Using amino acids and the process known as protein synthesis, the specific sequencing in DNA of these nucleobase-pairs enables storing and transmitting coded instructions as genes. In RNA, base-pair sequencing provides for manufacturing new proteins that determine the frames and parts and most chemical processes of all life forms. 