5′ end
a, h
The 5′ end refers to the end of a nucleic acid molecule, such as DNA or RNA, that has a phosphate group attached to the carbon atom of the sugar molecule at the 5′ position. This phosphate group may be involved in the formation of a phosphodiester bond with the 3′ end of an adjacent nucleotide, which links nucleotides together to form a strand of DNA or RNA.
In DNA, the 5′ end is typically the beginning of the nucleotide sequence, while the 3′ end is the end of the sequence. During transcription, the RNA polymerase enzyme adds nucleotides to the 3′ end of the growing RNA molecule, meaning that the 5′ end of the RNA molecule contains the first nucleotide added during transcription.
The 5′ end of a nucleic acid molecule is important for a variety of biological processes, including gene expression and regulation, protein synthesis, and DNA replication. For example, the 5′ end of an mRNA molecule contains a cap structure that helps to protect the mRNA from degradation and promote its translation into protein.
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