Hey guys, in the process of translation, what does 3' or 5' mean?

Question

Its just Im studying for this honors physiology entrance exam, and I keep seeing it around but I just do not know what it signifies.

I made an educated guess, if I am wrong please tell me what it means but if I am right please say so:

3' means go left and 5' means go right??? =P Not a very good guess but I had to try.

Please what does 3' mean and what does 5' mean?

Answer 1

in terms of length, 3' means 3 feet and 5' means 5 feet.

' means feet and " means inches

Here are some wiki articles to back this up

Answer 2

The DNA double helix is wound (intertwined) in opposite directions.  One strand is wound in the 3' direction and its opposite strand is wound in the 5' direction.  Thank of one strand as running its length from the 5' end to its 3' end. The opposite strand will run from its 3' end to its 5' end.  The two strands are wound in a double helix in opposite directions.

At the replication fork, only one of the new (daughter) strands runs in the 5' >>> 3' direction (the template for this strand, of course, runs in the 3' >>> 5' direction). The new strand running in the 5' >>> 3' direction can be synthesized continuously and is called the leading strand.

So, one strand of DNA is the leading strand running in the 3' to 5' direction, and the resulting template strand of DNA runs in the 5' to 3' direction.

Hope that helps

Answer 3

Traditionally, 3' means "three feet," and 5' means "five feet."

Never heard of them meaning anything else, unless they have some specialized code meaning in the material you are reading.

Answer 4

These terms refer to the way in which a molecule of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) is assembled.  Nucleic acid consists of a chain of nucleotides: each nucleotide consists of a base which is connected to a sugar molecule (deoxyribose for DNA or ribose for RNA), which is connected to the sugar molecules in adjacent nucleotides by means of phosphate groups.  3' and 5' refer to carbon atoms in the sugar molecules.  Each phosphate group connects a 3' to a 5'.  So, when moving along a strand of nucleic acid, you can move in two possible directions:

---the 3' to 5' direction, in which you move in one sugar from carbon 3' to carbon 5', pass along the phosphate group to carbon 3' of the next sugar, move again to carbon 5', and so   on;

---the 5' to 3' direction, in which you move in one sugar from carbon 5' to carbon 3', pass along the phosphate group to carbon 5' of the next sugar, move again to carbon 3', and so   on.

When two strands of nucleic acid join to form a double helix, the strands run in opposite directions (one 3' to 5', the other 5' to 3').