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Does RNA have 2 OH and 3 OH?

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Final answer:

RNA has a hydroxyl group at both the 2' and 3' positions of the ribose sugar, unlike DNA which has a hydroxyl group only at the 3' position and a hydrogen at the 2' position.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sugar backbone of ribonucleic acid (RNA) consists of ribose units, which distinguish it from DNA. Ribose is a pentose sugar with a key structural difference: it has a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached to both the 2' and 3' carbon atoms. In contrast, deoxyribose, found in DNA, lacks the hydroxyl group at the 2' carbon, having instead a hydrogen atom there. Thus, RNA indeed has 2' OH and 3' OH groups, contributing to its single-stranded, less stable nature compared to DNA's double-stranded structure. Additionally, RNA nucleotides are connected by 5'-3' phosphodiester linkages, with the phosphate group forming a bond between the 3' hydroxyl group of one nucleotide and the 5' hydroxyl group of another.

User Kerisnarendra
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Answer:

Yes, RNA (ribonucleic acid) has both 2' and 3' hydroxyl (-OH) groups in its ribose sugar backbone. The 2' -OH group distinguishes ribose sugar in RNA from deoxyribose sugar in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which lacks the 2'-OH group. The presence of the 2'-OH group in RNA makes it more reactive than DNA and makes it susceptible to hydrolysis and other chemical modifications. The 3'-OH group is involved in the formation of phosphodiester bonds between adjacent nucleotides in RNA during transcription and RNA processing.

Step-by-step explanation:

User Emmanuel DURIN
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