Basic structure

Nucleic acids are polynucleotides—that is, long chainlike molecules composed of a series of nearly identical building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogen-containing aromatic base attached to a pentose (five-carbon) sugar, which is in turn attached to a phosphate group. Each nucleic acid contains four of five possible nitrogen-containing bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U). A and G are categorized as purines, and C, T, and U are collectively called pyrimidines. All nucleic acids contain the bases A, C, and G; T, however, is found only in DNA, while U is found in RNA. The pentose sugar in DNA (2′-deoxyribose) differs from the sugar in RNA (ribose) by the absence of a hydroxyl group (―OH) on the 2′ carbon of the sugar ring. Without an attached phosphate group, the sugar attached to one of the bases is known as a nucleoside. The phosphate group connects successive sugar residues by bridging the 5′-hydroxyl group on one sugar to the 3′-hydroxyl group of the next sugar in the chain. These nucleoside linkages are called phosphodiester bonds and are the same in RNA and DNA.