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CBSE Class 10 Answered

can you please provide some more info on DNA as i want to know more about,?
Asked by kanishkaaggarwal | 08 Jan, 2010, 09:22: PM
answered-by-expert Expert Answer

DNA molecule is a double stranded polymer, consisting of two long chains of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and joined by hydrogen bonds between the complimentary bases adenine and thymine or cytosine and guanine.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. It is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of the organisms.  Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria and chloroplasts.

The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. It contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information.

Chemically, DNA consists of two long polymers of simple units called nucleotides, with backbones made of sugars and phosphate groups joined by ester bonds. These two strands run in opposite directions to each other and are therefore anti-parallel. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of molecules called bases. It is the sequence of these four bases along the backbone that encodes information. This information is read using the genetic code, which specifies the sequence of the amino acids within proteins.

The four chemical bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The order, or sequence, of these bases determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism.

DNA bases pair up with each other, A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs. Each base is also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule. Together, a base, sugar, and phosphate are called a nucleotide. Nucleotides are arranged in two long strands that form a spiral called a double helix. The structure of the double helix is somewhat like a ladder, with the base pairs forming the ladder’s rungs and the sugar and phosphate molecules forming the vertical sidepieces of the ladder.

An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make copies of itself. Each strand of DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern for duplicating the sequence of bases. This is critical when cells divide because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old cell.

Within cells, DNA is organized into long structures called chromosomes. Within the chromosomes, chromatin proteins such as histones compact and organize DNA.

Answered by | 10 Jan, 2010, 02:44: PM
CBSE 10 - Biology
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