Question

The 3'-5' phosphodiester linkages inside a polynucleotide chain serve to join 

A

One nitrogenous base with pentose sugar

B

One DNA strand with the other DNA strand

C

One nucleoside with another nucleoside

D

One nucleotide with another nucleotide

Hard
Updated on : 2022-09-05
Solution
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Correct option is D)

  • A strand of DNA or RNA consists of nucleotides linked together by phosphodiester bonds. 
  • A phosphodiester bond exists between the phosphate of one nucleotide and the sugar 3' carbon of the next nucleotide. 
  • This forms a backbone of alternating sugar and phosphate molecules known as the sugar-phosphate backbone.
  • The two strands of DNA are also antiparallel (run in opposite directions) to one another. A strand of DNA can have direction 5'-3' or 3'- 5'.
  • One strand of the DNA molecule is 5'-3' and the other strand is 3'-5'. A DNA strand is assigned direction based on what is found at the end of the strands. 
  • The end of the strand with a free phosphate is the 5' end because phosphate attaches to the 5' carbon of the sugar. 
  • The end with a free OH group is the 3' end because the OH group is attached to the 3' carbon of the sugar.
So, the correct answer is option D.

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