Structure and Functions of DNA

This paper gives a description of the structure and functioning of the DNA molecule. The Structure DNA Nucleotides Nucleic acids have their building blocks as nucleotides. The nucleotides that make up the DNA are referred to as deoxyribonucleotides. A deoxyribonucleotide comprises of 3 constituents: a phosphate group, a 5-carbon sugar (deoxyribose) along with a nitrogenous base. The nitrogenous base facilitates the complementary base pairing of the nucleic acid strands as shown in the diagram below (a). According to Watson and Crick, DNA comprises of 2 complementary strands which are slanted antiparallel to one another whereas the phosphodiester backbones make up the exterior part of the molecule (Pray 100).  In a DNA, thymine, and adenine make complementary base pairs whereas guanine and cytosine make complementary base pairs as well, explicating Chargaff’s rules.