Phosphodiester bond

[3] Formation of the bond occurs not only in DNA and RNA replication, but also in the repair and recombination of nucleic acids, and may require the involvement of various polymerases, primers, and/or ligases.

[5] The negative charge attracts histones, metal cations such as magnesium, and polyamines [needs citation].

These enzymes are involved in repairing DNA and RNA sequences, nucleotide salvage, and in the conversion of cGMP and cAMP to GMP and AMP, respectively.

For example, simple ribose (in RNA) has one more hydroxyl group than deoxyribose (in DNA), making the former less stable and more susceptible to alkaline hydrolysis, wherein relatively high pH conditions induce the breaking of the phosphodiester linkage between two ribonucleotides.

The relative instability of RNA under hydroxyl attack of its phosphodiester bonds makes it inadequate for the storage of genomic information, but contributes to its usefulness in transcription and translation.

Diagram of phosphodiester bonds ( PO 3− 4 ) between three nucleotides . The 5' end has a 5' carbon attached to a phosphate, and the other end, the 3' end, has a 3' carbon attached to a hydroxyl group.