Question

Virtually no chemical reaction can occur in the body in the absence of enzymes. how might excessively high body temperature or acidosis (acidic blood ph (interfere with enzyme activity 28. what is the structural unit of nucleic acids? name the two major classes of nucleic acid found in the body, and then compare and contrast them in terms of (a) bases and sugar content, (b) general three-dimensional structure, and (c) relative functions.

Answer 1

1. The structural unit of nucleic acids are composed of repeating units of monomers called nucleotides. Nucelotides are composed of three functional groups: sugars which are specifically pentoses (5-Carbon sugars), phosphate group and nitrogenous base.

2. The two major classes of nucleic acids in the body are the DNA or deoxyribonucleic acids and RNA or ribonucleic acids.

3.
a. Based on the nitrogenous bases and sugar, the DNA has a deoxyribose as the sugar and its 4 bases are adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine. For RNA, the sugar is ribose while its 4 bases are adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil

b. Based on the general three-dimensional structure, DNA is a double stranded β-helix with a long chain of nucleotides. RNA is composed of a shorter chain with a single strand α-helix structure.

c. Based on relative functions, the DNA is responsible for storing the genetic information while the RNA is responsible for transporting the genetic information to the ribosomes which synthesize proteins.