Nucleic acids contain the genetic information for an organism. what are the building blocks of nucleic acids made up of?

General
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nucleic acids contain the genetic information for an organism. what are the building blocks of nucleic acids made up of?

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What are the building blocks of nucleic acids made up of?

Answer: Nucleic acids, like DNA and RNA, are made up of building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of three main components:

  1. Sugar:

    • In DNA, the sugar is deoxyribose.
    • In RNA, the sugar is ribose.

  2. Phosphate Group:

    • This group links the sugars of adjacent nucleotides, forming the backbone of the nucleic acid strand.

  3. Nitrogenous Base:

    • There are four types in DNA: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G).
    • In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil (U).

These nucleotides link together in a chain, with the sequence of the nitrogenous bases encoding genetic information.

Summary: Nucleic acids are composed of nucleotides, each consisting of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base, which together encode an organism’s genetic information.