How are nucleic acids formed?

Question

Sebastian Alvarez · Accepted Answer

Nucleic acids are formed when nucleotides come together through phosphodiester linkages between the 5' and 3' carbon atoms .

When nucleotides join together via phosphodiester bonds between the5' and 3' carbon atoms, nucleic acids are created. All known forms of life depend on nucleic acids, which are biopolymers, or biomolecules, made up of monomers, which are nucleotides consisting of three elements: a nitrogenous base, a phosphate group, and a 5-carbon sugar. The base sequence in the chain is called a gene and contains the information required to form enzymes and other proteins, the workhorses that power a cell. Owing to the extreme importance of base sequence in the chain, nucleic acids (DNA and other RNA forms) are not formed spontaneously from a mixture of nucleotides; rather, they are synthesized by proteins called polymerases, which use an existing molecule as a template, a process known as replication. References mentioned in this response: The wiki page for "Nucleic Acid Structure" can be found at https://tutor.hix.ai

Gabriella Anderson · Answer

undefined When phosphate groups form bonds with sugar molecules and nitrogenous bases link to form long chains, nucleotides polymerize to form nucleic acids.