Nucleic acid Nucleic acid Nucleic acids are the biopolymers, or small biomolecules, essential to all known forms of life. The term "nucleic acid" is the overall name for DNA and RNA. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made of three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. If the sugar is a compound ribose, the polymer is RNA (ribonucleic acid); if the sugar is derived from ribose as deoxyribose, the polymer is DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Nucleic acids are the most important of all biomolecules. They are found in abundance in all living things, where they
Chorismic acid Chorismic acid Chorismic acid, more commonly known as its anionic form chorismate, is an important biochemical intermediate in plants and microorganisms. It is a precursor for: The name chorismic acid derives from a classical Greek word, "χωρίζω" meaning "to separate", because the compound plays a role as a branch-point in aromatic amino acid biosynthesis. Shikimate → shikimate-3-phosphate → 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (5-O-(1-carboxyvinyl)-3-phosphoshikimate) Chorismate synthase is an enzyme that catalyzes the final chemical reaction 5-O-(1-carboxyvinyl)-3-phosphoshikimate → chorismate + phosphate. Chorismate is transformed into "para"-aminobenzoic acid by the enzymes 4-amino-4-deoxychorismate synthase and 4-amino-4-deoxychorismate lyase. Chorismate lyase is an enzyme that transforms chorismate into 4-hydroxybenzoate