How do nucleotides polymerize to form nucleic acids?

Hint: DNA is also known as deoxyribose nucleic acid. It is a blueprint to carry and inherit information from parents to offspring. It is a source of protein. Due to this the offspring resembles that of parents. It is genetic material in most organisms including human beings.

Complete answer:



1.Adenine bonds with thymine with help of two hydrogen bonds and guanine bonds with cytosine with help of three hydrogen bonds.

2.The nitrogenous base molecule is joined to the sugar molecule by a glycosidic bond and forms a structure called nucleoside. The nucleoside combines with a phosphate group by an ester bond to form a nucleotide.

3.In a nucleic acid a phosphate moiety (moiety is a part of a larger molecule or structure) links the 3' carbon of one sugar of one nucleotide to the 5' carbon of the sugar of the succeeding nucleotide The bond formed between the phosphate and hydroxyl group of sugar is an ester bond. As there is one such ester bond on either side, it is called phosphodiester bond.

Note: DNA was first isolated in 1869 from the nuclei of white blood cells. Because this material was found in the nucleus and was acidic , it was called nucleic acid. There are more than a dozen forms of DNA named after English alphabets with unique structural features. DNA is mostly right handed .