Abstract
The study of nucleic acids began in 1869 with the isolation of a hitherto unknown phosphate-rich substance from the nuclei of white blood cells. The discovery was made by Friedrich Miescher, a young Swiss studying with the great German biochemist Ernst Hoppe-Seyler. Miescher called the isolated substance nuclein. Subsequently, nuclein was shown to be acidic in nature, and its name was changed to nucleic acid. Soon it became apparent that there were two types of nucleic acids, now called ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In the early days of nucleic acid research, investigators frequently isolated RNA from yeast and DNA from the thymus gland. Hence, RNA and DNA are referred to in the older literature as yeast nucleic acid and thymus nucleic acid, respectively.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Selected Readings
Adams, R. L., Knowler, J. T., and Leader, D. P., The Biochemistry of the Nucleic Acids, 11th ed., Chapman & Hall, London (1992).
Agris, P. F., The importance of being modified: Roles of modified nucleosides and Mgt+ in RNA structure and function, Prog. Nucleic Acid Res. Mol. Biol. 53: 79–129 (1996).
Avery, O. T., MacLeod, C. M., and McCarty, M., Studies on the chemical transformation of Pneumococcal types, J. Exp. Med. 79: 137–158 (1944).
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, DNA and Chromosomes, Vol LVIII, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, New York (1993).
Gesteland, R. E, and Atkins, J. F. (eds.), The RNA World, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, New York (1993).
Glick, B. R., and Pasternak, J. J., Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Applications of Recombinant DNA, ASM Press, Washington, D.C. (1994).
Gold, L., Polisky, B., Uhlenbeck, O., and Yarus, M., Diversity of oligonucleotide functions, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 64: 763–797 (1995).
Herbert, A., and Rich, A., The biology of left-handed Z-DNA, J. Biol. Chem. 271: 11595–11598 (1996).
Holley, R. W., The nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid, Sci. Am. 214: 30–46 (1966).
Nicholson, A. W., Structure, reactivity, and biology of double-stranded RNA, Prog. Nucleic Acid Res. Mol. Biol. 52:1–65 (1996). Rennie, J., DNA’s new twists, Sci. Am. 268: 122–132 (1993).
Watson, J. D., The Double Helix, Atheneum, New York (1968).
Watson, J. D., and Crick, F. H. C., Molecular structure of nucleic acid. A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid, Nature (London) 171:
Von Hippel, P. H., Protein—DNA recognition: New perspectives and underlying themes, Science 263: 769–770 (1994).
Zlatanova, J., and Van Holde, K., The linker histones and chromatin structure, Prog. Nucleic Acid Res. Mol. Biol. 52: 217–259 (1996).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stenesh, J. (1998). Nucleic Acids. In: Biochemistry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9427-4_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9427-4_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9429-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9427-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive