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Structure of double-stranded DNA, the product of DNA synthesis, showing individual nucleotide units and bonds. DNA synthesis is the natural or artificial creation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules. DNA is a macromolecule made up of nucleotide units, which are linked by covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds, in a repeating structure.
This nucleotide contains the five-carbon sugar deoxyribose (at center), a nucleobase called adenine (upper right), and one phosphate group (left). The deoxyribose sugar joined only to the nitrogenous base forms a Deoxyribonucleoside called deoxyadenosine, whereas the whole structure along with the phosphate group is a nucleotide, a constituent of DNA with the name deoxyadenosine monophosphate.
Nucleotide synthesis is an anabolic mechanism generally involving the chemical reaction of phosphate, pentose sugar, and a nitrogenous base. Degradation of nucleic acids is a catabolic reaction and the resulting parts of the nucleotides or nucleobases can be salvaged to recreate new nucleotides.
The nucleotide contains both a segment of the backbone of the molecule (which holds the chain together) and a nucleobase (which interacts with the other DNA strand in the helix). A nucleobase linked to a sugar is called a nucleoside, and a base linked to a sugar and to one or more phosphate groups is called a nucleotide.
The basic component of biological nucleic acids is the nucleotide, each of which contains a pentose sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and a nucleobase. [16] Nucleic acids are also generated within the laboratory, through the use of enzymes [17] (DNA and RNA polymerases) and by solid-phase chemical synthesis.
Oligonucleotide synthesis is the chemical synthesis of relatively short fragments of nucleic acids with defined chemical structure ().The technique is extremely useful in current laboratory practice because it provides a rapid and inexpensive access to custom-made oligonucleotides of the desired sequence.
Synthesis of nucleosides involves the coupling of a nucleophilic, heterocyclic base with an electrophilic sugar. The silyl-Hilbert-Johnson (or Vorbrüggen) reaction, which employs silylated heterocyclic bases and electrophilic sugar derivatives in the presence of a Lewis acid, is the most common method for forming nucleosides in this manner.
This figure shows DNA synthesis, but RNA synthesis occurs through the same mechanism. The cellular processes of DNA replication and transcription involve DNA and RNA synthesis, respectively. DNA synthesis uses dNTPs as substrates, while RNA synthesis uses rNTPs as substrates. [2] NTPs cannot be converted directly to dNTPs.