What are nucleic acids? Mention their two important functions.
Nucleic acids are the polymers of nucleotides which in turn consist of a base, a pentose sugar and phosphate moiety. They are also called polynucleotides. There are two types of nucleic acids — DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid).
The two important functions of nucleic acids are:
- Transfer of characters from parents to offsprings: DNA is the chemical basis of heredity and is responsible for maintaining the identity of different species of organisms over millions of years.
- Protein synthesis: The proteins are synthesised by various RNA molecules in the cell. The message for the synthesis of a particular protein is present in DNA.
Explanation
The answer is directly sourced from the textbook context which defines nucleic acids as polymers of nucleotides (polynucleotides) consisting of a base, pentose sugar and phosphate moiety. The two main functions mentioned in the context are: (1) heredity/transfer of characters - DNA being the chemical basis of heredity and maintaining identity of species, and (2) protein synthesis - where RNA molecules carry out protein synthesis and DNA contains the message for synthesis of particular proteins.