Page 231 - The Manga Guide to Biochemistry
P. 231
As a result, the phosphodiester bond breaks apart, dividing the RNA chain.
It’s all a little sordid, isn’t it?
O O O What?!
1´
5´ O 5´
4´ 4´
1´
3´ 2´ Base 3´ 2´
O OH :OH- OO
P
Attack!
-O O
phosphodiester
bond O- P O Divided
into
pieces
O O HO
5´ 1´ 5´ O Hey!
1´
4´ 4´
3´ 2´ 3´ 2´
O OH O OH
Since RNA frequently undergoes this kind of autolysis, it’s considered “unstable”
and is not very suitable for storing genetic information. DNA is far more stable
than RNA since it does not contain the 2´-OH. Therefore, trustworthy DNA is
the best for this purpose. A different but still very important role is assigned to
RNA instead.
We’ll learn about that role next!
Molecular Biology and the Biochemistry of Nucleic Acids 217
