Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Biology

Chapter

Molecular Basis of Inheritance

Question:

Assertion: A nucleotide has two components – a nitrogenous base and  a pentose sugar.
Reason: A nitrogenous base is linked to the OH of 1' C pentose sugar through a N-glycosidic linkage to form a nucleoside.

Options:

 Assertion is true but Reason is false.

 Assertion is false but Reason is true.

Assertion and Reason both are true and R is the correct explanation of the A.

Assertion and Reason both are true but R is not the correct explanation of the A.

Correct Answer:

 Assertion is false but Reason is true.

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (2)-  Assertion is false but Reason is true.

A nucleotide has two components – a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar (ribose in case of RNA, and deoxyribose for DNA), and a phosphate group. There are two types of nitrogenous bases – Purines (Adenine and Guanine), and Pyrimidines (Cytosine, Uracil and Thymine). Cytosine is common for both DNA and RNA and Thymine is present in DNA. Uracil is present in RNA at the place of Thymine. A nitrogenous base is linked to the OH of 1' C pentose sugar through a N-glycosidic linkage to form a nucleoside, such as adenosine or deoxyadenosine, guanosine or deoxyguanosine, cytidine or deoxycytidine and uridine or deoxythymidine. When a phosphate group is linked to OH of 5' C of a nucleoside through phosphoester linkage, a corresponding nucleotide (or deoxynucleotide depending upon the type of sugar present) is formed. Two nucleotides are linked through 3'-5' phosphodiester linkage to form a dinucleotide. More nucleotides can be joined in such a manner to form a polynucleotide chain.