Question

Which of the following is NOT true regarding nucleic acid?
This question has multiple correct options
A) Nucleic acids are always genetic material for an organism when found inside a cell
B) Nucleic acids are long-chain macromolecules formed by the end to end polymerisation of nucleotide monomers
C) Nucleic acids of only one type are available in any organism
D) Nucleic acids show secondary structures

Answer 1

Hint: Nucleic acids are long chains of monomers called nucleotides. They exist in secondary structures and also tertiary structures for functioning which are later called proteins.

Step by step answer: The protein is made of amino acids and one amino acid is coded by three nucleotides. The nucleotide is made of three components: sugar component, nitrogen base like (A, T, G, C or U) and a phosphate group. Nucleic acids act as a template for protein synthesis. The nitrogenous bases are adenine, guanine, thymine, uracil and cytosine. Uracil is only found in RNA. The nitrogenous bases also bind to one another like adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine forming a double helix of DNA. The nucleic acids are the monomers of nucleotides which are bonded by their phosphate groups. The bond between them is known as a phosphodiester bond. The bonds between the nitrogenous bases that form a double helix in DNA is called a hydrogen bond. These bonds make the DNA stable. Nucleic acids are not always the genetic material as there are other nucleic acids such as RNA that participates in the transcription and translation processes without acting as genetic material. The nucleic acids have forms like primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures. The primary structure includes simple nucleic acid chains and secondary structures include structures like a helix, stem-loop and pseudoknot, etc. Tertiary structures include B form, Z form or A form of DNA and quaternary structure include DNA supercoiled with histone proteins in chromosomes.
Hence, the correct answer is option A.

Note: Nucleic acid such as DNA contains genes that code for a particular trait in an organism. Nucleic acid was first discovered by Friedrich Miescher in 1869. Later, Watson and Crick were the two scientists that determined the structure of DNA.