Polymers made of nucleotides are known as nucleic acids. The two main types of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). These macromolecules are essential for the storage and expression of genetic information.
Nucleotides, the building blocks of nucleic acids, consist of three components: a nitrogenous base, a five-carbon sugar (ribose in RNA and deoxyribose in DNA), and a phosphate group. The nitrogenous bases can be adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or uracil (U) in RNA.
In DNA, the nucleotides are arranged in a double helix structure, where two strands are held together by hydrogen bonds between complementary bases (A with T and C with G). RNA, on the other hand, is usually single-stranded and plays a crucial role in protein synthesis.
These nucleic acids are vital for all known forms of life, as they carry the genetic instructions necessary for the development, functioning, and reproduction of organisms.