What function does phosphorus serve in nucleic acids? In phospholipids?
Phosphorus is present in the phosphate functional group.
Like nitrogen, phosphorus is also a part of nucleic acids. In DNA [which is made up of nucleic acids], It is a part of the sugar phosphate backbone which creates the ‘side rails’ of DNA, if DNA were to be seen as a ladder.
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A phospholipid consists of two fatty acids and one phosphate group attached to glycerol. The phosphate group in the center of of the head of the phospholipid causes it to be hydrophilic. The tails of a phospholipid are hydrophobic. In a phospholipid bilayer membrane, the hydrophilic heads orient themselves to face the outside and inside the cell and help control the retention and expulsion of water and water-soluble substances.
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| https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0301_Phospholipid_Structure.jpg |
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