Structure of DNA

Deoxiribonucleic Acid

Deoxiribonucleic Acid or DNA is the genetic material which carries the instructions for development and function for all living things . The main function of DNA is to store information in a lonegr period of time (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006 . DNA contains instructions that are necessary to constitute other cell components like proteins and ribonucleic acid (RNA . Genes are portions of DNA that helps maintain and regulate genetic information (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006 Deoxiribonucleic Acid is arranged on the chromosomes that are situated in the cell 's nucleus (Campbell , Reece Simon

, 2006

Basically , the physical structure of DNA is comprised of a series of nucleotides or simple strands bound together like a chain (Caampbell Reece Simon , 2006 . The chain of strands are arranged linearly in a structure similar to that of a spiral staircase which is called a double helix (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006 . A nucleotide has three components deoxiribose or sugar , phosphate groups and one of following : adenine , guanine , thymine and cytosine which are called bases (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006 . The deoxiribose is the center constituent bed by a phosphate group on one side and one of the four bases on the other (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006 . Each phosphate group of a nucleotide corresponds with the phosphate groups of other nucleotides within the chain (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006 . The sequence of these four bases is bound with deoxiribose , this bonding of the three components are the perpetrators of the information encoded in the genes

Chemically , a nucleotide on a DNA strand complements the nucleotide on the other strand . This is caused by the chemical affinity of the bases These bases are conjoined by a weaker chemical bond called hydrogen bonds (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006

Deoxiribonucleic Acid 's physical and chemical structure allows inheritance in a molecular level . The chemical affinity of the bases and the two-stranded nature of DNA causes redundancy between two complementing strands (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006 . Therefore , the structure per se of the DNA is the ground for physical inheritance Inheritance starts through the process of the DNA duplication . In the duplication process , the splitting DNA strands reciprocate the genetic information upon division and serves as a template for combination with a new partner strand . Genes are arranged in a parallel manner , in line with the chromosomes , with each cell having a single circular chromosome (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006

The DNA of chromosomes are integrated with structural proteins forming a material called chromatin , with organized , compact and controlled access to the DNA itself . The combined DNA sequences of all chromosomes called the genome , compose the full set of hereditary materials Conversely , there is an exception on the structure of the sex chromosomes (Campbell , Reece Simon , 2006

In humans and other mammals there are very few genes in the Y chromosome which help develop male sexual characteristics (Campbell , Reece Simon 2006 . The X chromosome on the other hand is in resemblance with other chromosomes which have genes that are not inclined to sexual identification . Each Male...