The upcoming discussion will update you about the differences between Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA).
Difference # Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA):
1. It usually occurs inside nucleus and some cell organelles.
2. DNA is the genetic material.
3. It is double stranded with the exception of some viruses (e.g., phage f x 174).
4. DNA contains over a million nucleotides.
5. Molecular weight ranges from 3-4 million in Escherichia coli to 263 million in chromosome 1 of human beings.
6. It is Fuelgen positive.
7. It contains deoxyribose sugar.
8. Nitrogen base thymine occurs in DNA along with three others — adenine, cytosine and guanine.
9. It replicates to form new DNA molecules.
10. DNA transcribes genetic information to RNA.
11. Its quantity is fixed for cell.
12. DNA controls metabolism and genetics including variations.
13. Purine and pyrimidine bases are in equal number.
14. It is long lived.
Difference # Ribonucleic Acid (RNA):
1. Very little RNA occurs inside nucleus. Most of it is found in the cytoplasm.
2. RNA is not the genetic material except in certain viruses, e.g., Reovirus.
3. RNA is single stranded with the exception of some viruses (e.g., double stranded in Reovirus).
4. Depending upon the type, RNA contains 70- 12000 nucleotides.
5. Molecular weight ranges from 25000- 2,000,000.
6. RNA is Fuelgen negative.
7. It contains ribose sugar.
8. Thymine is replaced by uracil in RNA. The other three are similar — adenine, cytosine and guanine.
9. It cannot normally replicate itself.
10. RNA translates the transcribed message for forming polypeptides.
11. The quantity of RNA of a cell is variable.
12. It only controls metabolism under instructions from DNA.
13. There is no proportionality between number of purines and pyrimidine bases.
14. Some RNAs are very short lived while others have somewhat longer life.