Basics of Nucleic Acid (part 2)

Now let's move on to RNA i.e Ribonucleic Acid.

RNA is also macro molecule made up with polymer of nucleotides. 

One of the major difference between DNA and RNA is that unlike DNA, RNA is single stranded. It doest not hold the concept of "base pairing". It is also helical.

Like DNA, RNA also has nucleotides which are made up of one nitrogen base, one ribose sugar, and a inorganic phosphate residue.

Here is also same classification of nitrogen base catagory,i.e Purine and Pyrimidine.

As purine, RNA has adenine and Guanine.

But as pyrimidine, RNA has Uracil and Cytosine. So here is a new base named uracil. RNA does not have thymine.

Depending on the structure and function , RNA can be classified into 3 major catagory--

• messenger RNA (mRNA)

• ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

• transfer RNA (tRNA)

mRNA holds a crucial function in life processes. It has the particular code to make a particular protein.

So the major differences between DNA and RNA are--