AQA A Level Biology

Revision Notes

1.5.3 The Structure of DNA

Test Yourself

The Structure of DNA

  • The nucleic acid DNA is a polynucleotide – it is made up of many nucleotides bonded together in a long chain

DNA polynucleotide strand, downloadable AS & A Level Biology revision notes, downloadable AS & A Level Biology revision notes

A DNA nucleotide

  • DNA molecules are made up of two polynucleotide strands lying side by side, running in opposite directions – the strands are said to be antiparallel
  • Each DNA polynucleotide strand is made up of alternating deoxyribose sugars and phosphate groups bonded together to form the sugar-phosphate backbone. These bonds are covalent bonds known as phosphodiester bonds
    • The phosphodiester bonds link the 5-carbon of one deoxyribose sugar molecule to the phosphate group from the same nucleotide, which is itself linked by another phosphodiester bond to the 3-carbon of the deoxyribose sugar molecule of the next nucleotide in the strand
    • Each DNA polynucleotide strand is said to have a 3’ end and a 5’ end (these numbers relate to which carbon on the pentose sugar could be bonded with another nucleotide)
    • As the strands run in opposite directions (they are antiparallel), one is known as the 5’ to 3’ strand and the other is known as the 3’ to 5’ strand

  • The nitrogenous bases of each nucleotide project out from the backbone towards the interior of the double-stranded DNA molecule

DNA polynucleotide strand (2), downloadable AS & A Level Biology revision notes

A single DNA polynucleotide strand showing the positioning of the ester bonds

Hydrogen bonding

  • The two antiparallel DNA polynucleotide strands that make up the DNA molecule are held together by hydrogen bonds between the nitrogenous bases
  • These hydrogen bonds always occur between the same pairs of bases:
    • The purine adenine (A) always pairs with the pyrimidine thymine (T) – two hydrogen bonds are formed between these bases
    • The purine guanine (G) always pairs with the pyrimidine cytosine (C) – three hydrogen bonds are formed between these bases
    • This is known as complementary base pairing
    • These pairs are known as DNA base pairs

DNA molecule with hydrogen bonding, downloadable AS & A Level Biology revision notes

A section of DNA – two antiparallel DNA polynucleotide strands held together by hydrogen bonds

Double helix

  • DNA is not two-dimensional as seen in the diagram above
  • DNA is described as a double helix
  • This refers to the three-dimensional shape that DNA molecules form

DNA double helix formation, downloadable AS & A Level Biology revision notes

DNA molecules form a three-dimensional structure known as a DNA double helix

Exam Tip

Make sure you can name the different components of a DNA molecule (sugar-phosphate backbone, nucleotide, complementary base pairs, phosphodiester bonds, hydrogen bonds) and make sure you are able to locate these on a diagram. Remember that phosphodiester bonds join the nucleotides in the sugar-phosphate backbone, and hydrogen bonds join the bases of the two complementary strands together. Remember that the bases are complementary, so the number of A = T and C = G. You could be asked to determine how many bases are present in a DNA molecule if given the number of just one of the bases. Note that knowledge of purines and pyrimidines is not required

You've read 0 of your 0 free revision notes

Get unlimited access

to absolutely everything:

  • Downloadable PDFs
  • Unlimited Revision Notes
  • Topic Questions
  • Past Papers
  • Model Answers
  • Videos (Maths and Science)

Join the 80,663 Students that ❤️ Save My Exams

the (exam) results speak for themselves:

Did this page help you?

Lára

Author: Lára

Lára graduated from Oxford University in Biological Sciences and has now been a science tutor working in the UK for several years. Lára has a particular interest in the area of infectious disease and epidemiology, and enjoys creating original educational materials that develop confidence and facilitate learning.