Nucleic Acids
Nucleic acids are complex macromolecular organic compounds of immense biological importance. They control the important biosynthetic activities of the cell and carry hereditary information’s from generation to generation. There occur two types of nucleic acids in living organisms, Ribonucleic acid (RNA) and Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Both types of nucleic acids are polymers of nucleotides. Nucleotides are organic molecules that serve as the monomers or subunits of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).
Nucleotides are composed of:
a) Nitrogenous base
b) 5 carbon sugar (pentose sugar), ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA)
c) Phosphate group.