Life on earth is very diverse, from single-celled protozoans to complex multicellular plants and animals. But at the molecular level, all life is fundamentally made up of the same building blocks – DNA and RNA. One of the primary differences between DNA and RNA is that DNA is double-stranded while RNA is single-stranded.

Table of Contents

• Difference
• DNA
  • Structure
  • Types
• RNA
  • RNA Types
• Proteins

Read on to explore the DNA and RNA difference in detail.

Following are the important differences between DNA and RNA:

DNA and RNA Difference

In cells, DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is the nucleic acid that functions as the original blueprint for the synthesis of proteins. DNA contains the sugar deoxyribose, phosphates and a unique sequence of the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T).

The DNA molecules contain instructions a living entity requires to grow, develop and reproduce. These instructions are present inside each cell and are inherited from the parents to their offsprings.

It is made up of nucleotides which contain nitrogenous group, a phosphate group, and a sugar group. The order of the nitrogenous bases – thymine(T), guanine(G), cytosine(C), and adenine(A), is crucial in determining the genetic code.

Genes are formed by the order of the nitrogenous bases present in the DNA which is crucial for protein synthesis. The RNA is another nucleic acid that translates genetic information into proteins from DNA.

The nucleotides are linked together for the formation of two long strands which spiral to produce a structure known as the double-helix which resembles that of a ladder wherein the sugar and phosphate molecules form the sides while the rungs are formed by the bases.

The bases located on one strand pair up with the bases on the other strand, as in – guanine pairs with cytosine and adenine pairs with thymine.

The DNA molecules are extremely long and hence without the right packaging, they cannot fit into cells. Thus, DNA is tightly coiled to produce formations referred to as chromosomes. Every chromosome has a single DNA molecule. In humans, there are 23 pairs of chromosomes that are present within the nucleus of the cells.

Main article: DNA Structure

• A-DNA: It is found at a humidity of 75%. In an environment where there is a higher salt concentration or ionic concentrations, such as K+, Na+, Cs+ or in a state of dehydration it endures in a form that contains 11 nucleotide pairs with a rise of 2.56A⁰  vertically per base pair. It has the broadest helical diameter amongst all DNA forms – 23A⁰ DNA which is a typical helix that is right-handed with a rotation of 32.7⁰ per base pair. 
• B-DNA: It is found at a humidity of 9.25 and a low salt concentration or ionic strength. It has 10 base pairs per turn which from the helix axis. There is a distance of 3.4A⁰ with a helical diameter of 20A⁰. The Watson-Crick’s double helix model is defined as a B-form of DNA.
• C-DNA: It is observed at a humidity of 66% and in the occupancy of a few ions such as Lithium(Li+). It closely has 9.33 base pairs for every turn. The diameter of the helix is about 19A⁰and the vertical rises for every base pair for the right-handed helix is 3.320.
• D-DNA: It is observed rarely as an extreme variant. The 8 base pairs are titled negatively from the helix axis with an axial rise if about 3.03A⁰
• Z-DNA: It is found in an environment with a very high salt concentration. Unlike the A, B, and C type of DNA, it is a left-handed helical structure. The backbone is arranged in a zig-zag pattern formed by the sugar-phosphate linkage wherein the recurrent monomer is the dinucleotide in contrast to the mononucleotide, which is observed in alternate forms.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a nucleic acid which is directly involved in protein synthesis. Ribonucleic acid is an important nucleotide with long chains of nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its main role is to act as a messenger conveying instructions from DNA for controlling the proteins synthesis.

RNA contains the sugar ribose, phosphates, and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), guanine (G),  cytosine (C),  and uracil (U). DNA and RNA share the nitrogenous bases A, G, and C. Thymine is usually only present in DNA and uracil is usually only present in RNA.

Only some of the genes in cells are expressed into RNA. The following are the types of RNA wherein each type is encoded by its own type of gene:

• tRNA– The transfer RNA or the tRNA carries amino acids to ribosomes while translation
• mRNA – The messenger RNA or the mRNA encodes amino acid sequences of a polypeptide
• rRNA – The ribosomal RNA or the rRNA produces ribosomes with the ribosomal proteins that are organelles responsible for the translation of the mRNA.
• snRNA – The small nuclear RNA forms the complexes along with proteins which are utilized in RNA processing in the eukaryotes.

Explore More: Structure of RNA

To place these ideas in the proper context, remember that some proteins are enzymes that aid cells by catalyzing chemical reactions. These chemical reactions occur after the enzyme binds its substrate at the enzyme’s active site. The enzyme’s active site matches the substrate molecule in size, shape and chemical properties.

The size, shape, and chemical properties of an enzyme’s active site are due to the combination of the enzyme’s amino acids, which are the individual subunits of the enzyme. For the cell to reliably make an enzyme, the cell must be able to control the placement of amino acids in a protein during the synthesis of enzymes.

Proteins play a critical role in how cells successfully meet the challenges of living. Cells use proteins to maintain their shape and to speed up important chemical reactions such as photosynthesis and respiration.

A cell will not live long if it cannot reliably create the proteins that it needs for survival.

More to Read: Proteins

To learn more about the difference between DNA and RNA, visit BYJU’S Biology.

Further Reading

• The Polynucleotide Molecule
• Difference Between Gene and DNA