Introduction
one of the key marcomoecular elements essential for the maintenance, integrity and functioning of all cells is proteins. Proteins are an essential yet diverse group of biomolecules encompassing enzymes, antibodies, transport and structural proteins, to name but a few. The synthesis of proteins is itself catalysed by enzymes and proteins; however, this process is ultimately directed by genetic material deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. DNA encodes all the information needed to specify the structure of every protein the cell can produce. The realisation that DNA lies behind all the cell's activities led to the development of molecular biology. Rather than a discrete area of biosciences, molecular biology is now accepted as a very important means of understanding and describing complex biological processes. The development of the methods and techniques to study processes at the molecular level has led to new and powerful ways of isolating, analyzing, manipulating and exploiting nucleic acids. It has also given rise to the development of new and exciting areas of the biological sciences such as biotechnology, genome mapping, molecular medicine and gene therapy.
In considering the potential utility of molecular biological techniques it is important to understand some of the fundamental attributes of the structures of nucleic acids and gain an appreciation of the how this dictates the function in vivo and in vitro. Indeed many techniques used in molecular biology mimic in some way the natural functions of nucleic acids, such as replication and transcription. This chapter is therefore intended to provide an overview of the general features of nucleic acid structure and function and describe some of the basic methods used in its isolation and analysis.
