DNA vs RNA

1. DNA vs RNA
Prepared by
Yousef Elshrek

2. • The structure of DNA is amazing.
• It has a double helix structure, A twisted ladder.
• It has its own emoji.
https://i.imgur.com/rvYBypI.jpg

3. • DNA stores genetic
information and codes
for your traits.
• RNA, you actually
couldn’t get that genetic
message out to your
cells so that they can
start producing proteins.
We talk about this in
protein synthesis.

4. • RNA is a very important biomolecule – just as
important as DNA.
• In fact, RNA is even hypothesized as coming
first before DNA in the RNA World hypothesis
• So, let us compare and contrast DNA with
RNA.
• DNA and RNA found in all living organisms.
• In eukaryotic cells, DNA tends to be found in
the nucleus while you can find RNA both in and
out of the nucleus.
• Prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus.
• Both DNA and RNA are nucleic acids, which
are a type of biomolecule. Nucleic acids have a
monomer. A monomer is a building block.

5. • The monomer for
nucleic acids is a
nucleotide so both
DNA and RNA
have nucleotides.
• The nucleotides of
both RNA and
DNA have three
parts: a phosphate,
sugar, and a base.

6. • Let us draw 6 nucleotides of
DNA and 6 nucleotides of
RNA.
• DNA is generally double
stranded, and if focusing on
these two strands of
nucleotides here, you can see
they run antiparallel to each
other.
• RNA is generally single
stranded, so you are just
seeing one strand here.

7. • The sugar in DNA is deoxyribose and the sugar in
RNA is ribose.
• This makes sense because DNA stands for
deoxyribonucleic acid. That’s helpful to know
because the “deoxyribose” is a sugar, and “nucleic
acid” is that type of biomolecule it is.
• RNA stands for ribonucleic acid as its sugar is
ribose.
• The bases in DNA are adenine, thymine, guanine,
and cytosine.
• It helps to remember the popular mnemonic device:
apples in the tree (that helps you remember that A
goes with T) and car in the garage (so C goes with
G) to understand how DNA bases pair
Structure of nucleotides - the monomers of DNA/RNA

8. • The bases in RNA are adenine, uracil, guanine, and cytosine.
• Notice the different one? . It is uracil!
• So, you must change that popular mnemonic device here…instead of
apples in the tree…maybe the apples are…under? Car in the garage still
works.
• We mentioned earlier that DNA codes for your traits, but it could not
do that without RNA’s help.
• In our protein synthesis, we talk about three different types of RNA
and their very important roles.
• mRNA, which stands for messenger RNA. mRNA’s job is to carry a
message based off the DNA.

9. • In eukaryotic cells, DNA generally stays in the nucleus, but mRNA can leave
the nucleus to take this message to a ribosome. Ribosomes make protein and
RNA is a major component of ribosomes.
• Ribosomal RNA: This type of RNA is called rRNA.
• Transfer RNA (tRNA), its job is to transfer amino acids to match the correct
mRNA codon.
• Codon charts using mRNA codons have been developed so that you can see
which amino acid is brought for each mRNA codon.
• When those amino acids are joined together, they make a polypeptide chain.
• Proteins are made of one or more of these polypeptide chains, and proteins have
tons of different roles.

10. • Let us try a little 3 question quiz.?
• Question 1
• If I have 8 DNA nucleotides, how many DNA bases do I have?
• How many base pairs?
• The answer:
• Each nucleotide---regardless of whether it’s a DNA or RNA
nucleotide--- has a phosphate, sugar, and a base.
• So, 8 DNA nucleotides would have 8 bases.
• DNA bases pair like this- and that is 4 DNA base pairs.

11. • Question 2
• If one strand of DNA has these
bases shown here--- A, T, T, G,
A, C--- can you complete what
the complementary DNA bases
would be for the other DNA
strand?
• The answer:
• So, remember those base
pairing rules for DNA and the
popular mnemonics.
• If placing the bases in this
image, reading in the direction
shown on this image, they’d be
T, A, A, C, T, G.

12. • Question 3
• In a process known as transcription, a complementary RNA strand called messenger RNA
has to complement the DNA.
• So, if I still had that original portion of DNA here, what would the complementary RNA
bases here be?
• So, in this portion, reading in the direction shown on this image, we would have these
RNA bases.
• Notice the answer is like the last answer, but there are uracil bases here instead of thymine.
• The answer:
• So, remember it is asking for RNA. No thymine here; it’s uracil instead. Apples under
helps you remember A with U.
• Car in the garage helps you remember C with G.

13. https://microbenotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Differences-between-DNA-and-RNA-800x420.png

14. • References
• https://i.imgur.com/rvYBypI.jpg
• https://microbenotes.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/07/Differences-between-DNA-and-RNA-
800x420.png
• https://study.com/cimages/multimages/16/nucleotides66742250831
28094915.png
• https://youtu.be/JQByjprj_mA