IB›IB Biology SL›Mind mapsA1.2 Nucleic acidsIB Biology SL: Mind mapStudy pack PDFAlso for this subtopic:Revision notesFlashcardsSubtopic testCover factsGenetic materialDNA is the genetic material of all living organismsSome viruses use RNA, but are not livingNucleotidePhosphate + pentose sugar + nitrogenous baseJoined by condensation, releasing waterSugar–phosphate backbone is strong and covalentBases project sideways from the backboneDouble helixTwo antiparallel strandsHydrogen bonds link complementary basesA with T, G with CRNA has uracil in place of thymineNucleic acidsDNA and RNAATGCUDNA vs RNADNA usually double-stranded, RNA singleDNA sugar is deoxyribose, RNA has riboseDeoxyribose has H at carbon 2, ribose has OHExamples: mRNA, tRNA, rRNA, plasmid DNAUsing the codeEach strand is a template for replicationComplementary RNA copy of a gene: expressionCodon–anticodon base pairing in translationAny sequence possible: 4n4^n4n sequences of n basesCode is conserved, so universal common ancestryExam tipsDraw strands antiparallel, no helix neededTen bases give over a million sequencesNo need for hydrogen bond numbers at SL