While not as famous as the A's, T's, C's, and G's, DNA would not exist without its sugar-phosphate backbone. The DNA binding proteins perform important functions like copying the DNA (replication), controlling when, where and how much a gene gets read (transcription regulation), and much more. These proteins often have positive areas that bind strongly to the negative charge of the phosphate groups. The sugar-phosphate backbone has a negative charge that allows DNA to easily dissolve in water and is also used by proteins that bind the DNA. For example, the base pairing is critical to the processes of transcription and translation. The pairing of the nitrogenous bases that are connected to the sugar-phosphate backbone play a key role in the ability of DNA to store and transfer genetic information. The structure of DNA is tied to its function. These chromosomes are made up of thousands of shorter segments of DNA, called genes. These instructions are stored inside each of your cells, distributed among 46 long structures called chromosomes. The sugar-phosphate backbone, as mentioned, is an important component of DNA's double helix structure. It stores instructions for making other large molecules, called proteins. These bases pair in very specific ways: A always pairs with T and G with C. The rungs connecting the two sugar-phosphate strands are created by pairs of nitrogenous bases. This backbone consists of alternating phosphate and sugar groups, with the sugar molecule of one nucleotide linking to the phosphate group of the adjacent nucleotide.Ĭonnected to each sugar is a nitrogenous base. The 'sides' of the ladder (or strands of DNA) are known as the sugar-phosphate backbone. If you look at a DNA double helix, it resembles a twisted ladder. The sugar in DNA is called a deoxyribose because it doesn't have a hydroxyl group at the 2' position. The carbons in the pentagon are numbered from 1'-4', starting with the carbon found to the right of the oxygen and moving clockwise. DNA is arranged such that the phosphate and the sugar backbone are on the outside and in contact with fluid, while the nitrogenous bases are in the inner portion of the molecule.
#Backbone of dna plus
Four carbons plus an oxygen are part of the five-sided ring. Each nucleotide consists of a phosphate group, a nitrogenous base-adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), or guanine (G)-and deoxyribose.ĭNA's sugar, deoxyribose, has five carbon atoms, which are connected to each other to form what looks like a ring. But when it comes to DNA, the sugar involved is called deoxyribose.ĭeoxyribose is one of the three components of nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA. Im going to give you the structure of that first, because you will need it later anyway. Deoxyribose is a modified form of another sugar called ribose.
#Backbone of dna full
The full name of DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, gives you the name of the sugar present - deoxyribose. When you hear the word sugar, you may think of the white table sugar which sweetens coffee or tea. The backbone of DNA is based on a repeated pattern of a sugar group and a phosphate group.
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