Genetic materials can be defined are the factors responsible for the process of inheritance of traits. Genetic material is a significant part of the chapter “Molecular Basis of Inheritance” in Class 11 Biology Chapter 6. Students need to understand the properties of genetic materials to be well prepared for their board examinations and different entrance examinations. This article aims to discuss genetic materials like DNA and RNA.

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Genetic Material

Genetic material refers to the substance which stores biological information in a coded form and gets transferred to the next generation. There are two types of nucleic acids. One is DNA, and the other is RNA. Out of these two, DNA acts as genetic material in most organisms except some viruses that have RNA as genetic material.

Genetic Material: Criteria

Following should be the properties of genetic material-
1. It should be present in every cell.
2. Replication: It should be able to generate its replica (replication). DNA replication is the unique process of making an identical copy of double-stranded DNA, using existing DNA as a template for the synthesis of new DNA strands. Proteins were thought to be the genetic material as they can show different varieties of the combination of 20 amino acids. But proteins do not have the ability to replicate, so they cannot be considered as genetic material.
3. Stability: Genetic material should chemically and structurally be stable.
4. Mutation: It should provide the scope for slow mutations that are required for evolution. Mutation refers to a rare, random, discontinuous, inheritable variation in the amount or the structure of the genetic material in the genotype of an organism.
5. Genetic expression: It should be able to express itself in the form of a Mendelian character. It should keep information in the coded form.
DNA has all the qualities mentioned above. It is the genetic material in most advanced organisms.

DNA and RNA: Difference

Property	DNA	RNA
1. Full form	Deoxyribonucleic Acid	Ribonucleic Acid
2. Bases	Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Thymine	Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Uracil
3. Base pairs	A-T & C-G	A-U & C-G
4. Stability	More stable due to presence of 2′ H group.	Less stable due to presence of 2′ OH group.
5. Mutation	Mutates at a slower rate.	Mutates at a faster rate.
6. Repair	Repairing DNA by proofreading is easy.	Repairing is not easy.
7. Structure	It consists of two strands and has a double helix structure.	It consists of one strand
8. Length	It is a longer polymer than RNA. It can be several centimetres in length.	RNA can only be a few thousand base pairs long.
9. Sugar	Deoxyribose sugar is present.	Ribose sugar is present.
10. Ultraviolet (UV) Sensitivity	It is more prone to UV damage.	It is more resistant to UV damage than DNA.

Fig: DNA vs RNA

Genetic Material: Details

DNA is better genetic material than RNA because of the following reasons:-

1. DNA is a double-stranded helical structure, while RNA is single-stranded. This makes DNA more stable than RNA. Also, hydrogen bonding in DNA makes it more stable.
2. RNA has a \(2′ – {\rm{OH}}\) group on every nucleotide, which makes it more susceptible to hydrolysis while in DNA, deoxyribose sugar is there, i.e., one oxygen is absent at \(2′{\rm{C}}\) position of the sugar of the nucleotide, i.e., \( – {\rm{H}}\) group is present at \(2′{\rm{C}}\) position which prevents DNA from hydrolysis reaction. So, DNA  is more stable than RNA. Also, single-stranded RNA is more prone to auto-hydrolysis. This makes DNA less reactive and stable than RNA.
3. The presence of methyl groups in the Thymine of DNA helps in repairing the damaged DNA. This thymine is resistant to any photochemical mutation, and also, it makes an additional hydrogen bonding with adenine in DNA. These all properties of thymine make DNA more stable than RNA.
4. In DNA, there occurs slow and gradual changes or mutation. This makes it more stable than RNA, as, in RNA, there occurs fast changes or mutation.
5. DNA replicates with accuracy.
6. DNA keeps information safe in coded form.
7. DNA has the ability to self-replicate while RNA needs DNA for replication, i.e., cannot self replicate.

Summary

From the above discussion, we came to the conclusion that DNA is the genetic material that is present in most organisms. It has all the essential requirements of the genetic material. It is stable; it can replicate itself, mutate slowly and can express itself. DNA is the right-handed double-helical structure. It is formed of deoxyribonucleotides, each of which is composed of phosphate, \(5′-\)Carbon deoxyribose sugar and nitrogen base.

Two nucleotides are linked through a \(3′–5’\) phosphodiester bond. The nitrogenous base is linked to the pentose sugar through a glycosidic bond. The nitrogen base can be purine or pyrimidine. The two chains of the DNA are complementary to each other. DNA is the genetic material for both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Properties of Genetic Material

Frequently asked questions related to properties of genetic materials is listed as follows:

Q. Which is the first genetic material?
Ans: RNA is the first genetic material.

Q. What are the properties of genetic material?
Ans: 1. It should be stable.
2. It should replicate.
3. It should be genetically inherited.
4. It should mutate slowly.

Q. What are the two genetic materials?
Ans: The two genetic materials are DNA and RNA.

Q. What is the role of genetic material?
Ans: Biological information is passed on from one generation to another generation with the help of genetic material.

Q. What are the four bases of DNA?
Ans: Four bases are Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Thymine.

We hope this detailed article on Properties of Genetic Material helps you in your preparation. If you get stuck do let us know in the comments section below and we will get back to you at the earliest.