DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DNA and RNA
DNA and RNA are two molecules that are
found in the cells of every organism. DNA stands for
Deoxyribonucleic acid while RNA is short for Ribonucleic
acid. Both have specific functions related to the growth
and replication of the organism through cell division and
protein synthesis. However, DNA and RNA have differences
in both structure and use.
The main difference between DNA and RNA
molecules is the type of sugar that is present in them.
DNA is composed of deoxyribose sugar while RNA is made up
of ribose sugar. The main difference between the two
sugars is that deoxyribose has more OH.
Another difference between DNA and RNA is
their predominant structure. DNA is a double-stranded
molecule with a long chain of nucleotides while RNA is a
single-stranded molecule having shorter chains of
nucleotides. Both DNA and RNA are polymers however; each
molecule has its own set of bases. The difference in DNA
and RNA bases is that RNA has the base uracil, and DNA
has a base of thymine.
The difference in roles each of
these molecules has in cell biology is: DNA
serves as the storage of genetic
information of an organism, while RNA acts as a
messenger that relays the genetic
information from the nucleus to the ribosome.
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