Which moieties of nucleosides are involved in the formation of phosphodiester linkages present in dinucleotides? What does the word di-ester in the name of linkage indicate? Which acid is involved in the formation of this linkage?

Question

Which moieties of nucleosides are involved in the formation of phosphodiester linkages present in dinucleotides? What does the word di-ester in the name of linkage indicate? Which acid is involved in the formation of this linkage?

Philoid · Accepted Answer

Nucleosides are linked to phosphoric acid at 5’ carbon of the sugar moiety to form a nucleotide. To form a dinucleotide, two nucleotides are linked by phosphodiester linkage between the 5’ and 3’ carbon atom of adjacent pentose sugars. Phosphoric acid is involved in the formation of this linkage.