A
nucleic acid is a large biochemical macromolecule composed of chains of
nucleotides coding genetic information. The most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (
DNA) and ribonucleic acid (
RNA). Nucleic acids are found in all living cells –
prokaryotes and
eukaryotes – and in viruses. Monomeric nucleic acids are called
nucleotides – each consists of a nitrogenous
heterocyclic base (either a purine or a pyrimidine), a five-ring pentose sugar, and a phosphate group.
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