What is the relationship between nucleotides and nucleic acids?
Nucleotides are the actual physical molecular structures of the
two nucleic acids i.e. DNA and RNA. Nucleotides have three separate
molecular components a sugar DNA = deoxynucleic acid which means it
has one less OH group than RNA = ribonucleic acid. RNA has two OH
side groups attached to the pentose (five sided) hetero-cyclic
closed ring while DNA has one OH- and one H+. The missing oxygen or
oxo side group is used as a hydrolyzing agent (synthesis of one H2O
molecule) for dissolving or adding the three types of phosphates
groups (monophosphates = PO4-, diphosphates = P2O8-, and
triphosphates = P3012-. The sugar-phosphate backbone forms the
"backbone of the twisted double helix strands which are connected
by the 2 purine and 3 pyrimidine bases. Standard Central Dogma has
consistently demonstrated the purine nucleotide adenosine family
bonds with the pyrimidine family thymidine, with two hydrogen bonds
connecting the A+T covalent pair; in DNA the purine guanosine
family has a triple bond with the pyrimidine Cytidine family i.e.
G+C. In the current schema DNA ATGC substitutes a second partner
for adenosine i.e. uricidine family replaces the thymidine family.
The G+C triple bonded pairing stays the same in the RNA version of
the genetic code. The DNA (ATGC) and RNA (AUGC) nucleic acids are
the molecular structures which make up the "degenerate" 64 triplet
i.e. 3 consecutive nucleotides = 1 codon. There are 64 codons in
both the DNA and RNA genetic codes but my group Novagon DNA has
spent the last nine years demonstrating the DNA/RNA Genetic Code is
missing one purine family i.e. inosine family and nature's true
three dimensional has six nucleotides or three pairs of covalent
purine-pyrmidine pairings e.g. A1+T1, U1+ I1, C1+G1 and T2+A2,
I2+C2, U2+G2. This combined dRNA code accounts for the mysterious
wobble anti-codons pairings which are essential to the synthesis of
the protein secondary structures which to date has been totally
handled by the AUGC RNA code. Novagon's triple helix genetic code
accounts for many unexplained transcription and translation events
which occur in both 3' UTR and 5'UTR (untranslated protein exon
gene sequences. i.e. alternative splice sites, A to I and C to U
post transcriptional editing of original DNA template strands which
totally contradicts the foundation of the Central Dogma Theory
which declares a one way linear relationship of DNA to RNA to
Protein Polypeptides. mRNA transcripts can be changed from the
original DNA amino acid peptide synthesis "production request" if
local conditions warrant amino acid substitutions which are highly
likely to create SNP (single nucleotide polymorphic mutations)
which underlie many genetic and metabolic disorders and diseases.
DNA appears to be mainly responsible for faithful replication of
gene sequences paramount for passing down phenotype instruction
sets such that inheritance of genetic material from generation to
generation is accurately encoded and decoded with minuscule
mutational errors which often lead to expanded protein and enzyme
functionality. RNA on the other hand is the active, operational
processes involved in the nucleus, cytoplasm and extracellular
matrix in making proteins, nucleic acids, and quite possibly
carbohydrate and lipid macromolecules essential for cellular
tissue, organ, and organismic or species health and fitness for
continued phylogenetic growth and expansion. In a nutshell
nucleotides are the actual atomic-molecular structures including
the all important functional side groups which are the component
building blocks for the DNA and RNA nucleic acids which in turn are
the basis of the DNA and RNA genetic codes. It is quite ironic that
only the base pairs (purine+pyrmidine) are used in the actual
encoding and decoding of high throughput proteins, enzymes,
hormones, and steroids which have never made a synthetic final
product of genetically engineered prescription drugs or food crops
which did not have serious adverse, unexpected side effects that
frequently resulted in fatalities and inborn errors of metabolic
mutations. Another related irony is how the class of purine and
pyrimidine nucleotides were first synthesized by nature over a 2.1
to 3.5 billion year time frame. In purine synthesis de novo i.e.
from scratch, the closed purine hetero-cyclic base was synthesized
only after the PRPP sugar + phosphate components were already
assembled. So nature's sugar, phosphate, base has been replaced by
scientific man's base, sugar, phosphate order which might be having
a significant impact even though the salvage (recycled) and
catabolic degradation processes have increased the efficiency of
anabolic synthesis and catabolic degradation of the nucleotides,
nucleic acids, and amino acids involved in the mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA
transcription, translation, and ribosomal protein folding
processes.