Find the correct statement about phosphodiester linkage between adjacent nucleotides in nucleic acids

The correct option is: 5’-phosphate of one nucleotide joins the 3’-hydroxyl of the next nucleotide.

Step-by-Step Explanation:

1. Understanding Nucleotide Structure: A single nucleotide, which is the basic building block of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), consists of three components: a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar (ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA), and a phosphate group. The carbon atoms of the pentose sugar are numbered 1’ to 5’. The nitrogenous base is attached to the 1’-carbon, the hydroxyl (-OH) group is at the 3’-carbon, and the phosphate group is attached to the 5’-carbon.

2. Formation of the Phosphodiester Linkage: When nucleotides polymerize to form nucleic acid chains, a covalent bond called a phosphodiester linkage is formed between adjacent nucleotides.

3. Direction and Bond Formation: Specifically, the 5’-phosphate group of an incoming nucleotide reacts with the 3’-hydroxyl (-OH) group of the preceding nucleotide (which is already in the growing chain). This condensation reaction forms a ester bond, linking the 5’ carbon of one nucleotide sugar to the 3’ carbon of the adjacent nucleotide sugar through a phosphate group.

4. Resulting Backbone: This repeating pattern of sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate forms the strong, covalent "sugar-phosphate backbone" of DNA and RNA molecules, running in a 5’ to 3’ direction.