Question

The successive nucleotides of RNA are covalently linked together by

• A. Glycosidic bonds
• B. Phosphodiester bonds
• C. Hydrogen bonds
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Phosphodiester bonds

A phosphodiester bond is a group of strong covalent bonds between a phosphate group and two 5 - carbon ring carbohydrates (pentoses) over two ester bonds. Phosphodiester bonds are central to most life on Earth, as they make up the backbone of DNA and RNA. In DNA and RNA, the phosphodiester bond is the link between the 3' carbon atom of one sugar molecule and 5' carbon atom of the other, deoxyribose in DNA and a ribose in RNA.