Question

Ribose and 2-deoxyribose have an important role in biology. Among the most important derivatives are those with phosphate groups attached at the 5 position. Mono-, di- and tri-phosphate forms are important, as well as 3-5 cyclic monophosphates. Purines and pyrimidines form an important class of compounds with ribose and deoxyribose. When these purine and pyrimidine derivatives are coupled to a ribose sugar, they are called nucleosides.
Answer the following questions :
(a) What products would be formed when DNA is hydrolyzed? How is DNA different from RNA with reference to structure?

Hint:

Remember, DNA stores genetic information and is double-stranded, while RNA is involved in protein synthesis and is single-stranded.

Answer 1

Hydrolysis of DNA yields nucleotides by breaking phosphodiester bonds. Key differences between DNA and RNA include DNA's deoxyribose sugar versus RNA's ribose sugar, DNA's double-stranded helical structure versus RNA's single-stranded nature, and DNA's use of thymine while RNA uses uracil.