what happens when you change an OH to an H on a nucleotide?
When you change an OH (hydroxyl) group to an H (hydrogen) on a nucleotide, you are referring to the process of dehydrating (removing water) the nucleotide. In nucleotides, the OH group is usually found on the 2' carbon of the ribose sugar, resulting in ribonucleotides. By removing the hydroxyl group, you convert ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides.
The removal of the hydroxyl group is typically carried out enzymatically during DNA synthesis. This process involves an enzyme called ribonucleotide reductase, which catalyzes the reduction reaction that removes the hydroxyl group from the ribose sugar. The resulting deoxyribonucleotides are then incorporated into the growing DNA strand during replication.
The conversion from ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides is crucial for the stability and integrity of DNA. The presence of the hydroxyl group in ribonucleotides makes the RNA molecule more susceptible to degradation, whereas deoxyribonucleotides in DNA provide increased stability and resistance to enzymatic degradation.
It's important to note that this process occurs during DNA replication only. The natural RNA molecules in cells retain the hydroxyl group in the ribose sugar and are not converted to deoxyribonucleotides.