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Compare and Contrast Dna and Rna

Decent Essays

Compare and contrast DNA and RNA. Discuss why humans did not evolve with one central repository of DNA, but rather it is replicated throughout the body?

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): It is helical double stranded nucleic acid made of complementary purine and pyramidines supported by deoxy ribose sugars and phospodiester structures. (5 Prime to 3 prime). Eukaryotic DNA material.
Ribonucleic acid (RNA): It is a single nucleic acid supported by adenine, guanine, cytosine and uracil supported by ribose sugars. mRNA, rRNA and tRNA.
Double standed RNA Viruses are also with RNA as genetic material
a) Makes a complementary strand of RNA ---------> primase
Primase is an RNA polymerase that reads DNA and synthesize complememntary RNA strand …show more content…

The four bases found in DNA are adenine (abbreviated A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). A fifth pyrimidine base, called uracil (U), usually takes the place of thymine in RNA and differs from thymine by lacking a methyl group on its ring.
If we only had one central repository of DNA, it would take a long time for a protein to be made. We'd have to make it far in advance of needing it, so we wouldn't be able to quickly respond to new situations. Imagine if you were out hunting, and suddenly, a wolf appeared at your side. If you were slow at making proteins because you had one central repository of DNA, the wolf would probably get to you before you could respond safely.

Also, regulation of proteins occurs at the level of DNA as well as on other levels. In some cells, certain sections of DNA are bundled tight in a mass of proteins, in such a way that no RNA (and thus no protein) can be made from them. This turns off those genes. In other sections, only a few proteins might be keeping the DNA turned off, so that it could quickly be unravelled and used to make proteins.

This decreases the chance of harmful mutations killing the entire body, as well. Right now, you have redundancy--many copies of heart cells, each with a full set of DNA. Now imagine that something goes wrong with one of those cells. It can safely "suicide", and the other cells will replace it.

If we had one central set of DNA, if anything ever went wrong

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