cytosine

Thân thiện

A scientist points to a diagram showing cytosine pairing with guanine.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A nitrogenous base found in DNA and RNA: Cytosine is one of the four main nucleobases present in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. It is a pyrimidine derivative.
   • A component of nucleotides: In DNA and RNA, cytosine pairs specifically with guanine through hydrogen bonding, forming one of the fundamental base pairs that encode genetic information.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The sequence of adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine determines our genetic code.
  • A point mutation changed the cytosine in the DNA strand to a thymine.

Advanced Usage

• "Cytosine methylation": A biochemical process where a methyl group is added to a cytosine nucleotide, often involved in regulating gene expression.
  • Cytosine methylation is a key epigenetic mechanism.

Variants and Related Words

• Deoxycytidine (n): The nucleoside form of cytosine when linked to deoxyribose, as found in DNA.
• Cytidine (n): The nucleoside form of cytosine when linked to ribose, as found in RNA.
• Cytosine arabinoside (n): A chemotherapy medication that is a synthetic nucleoside analogue of cytosine.

Synonyms

• C (n): The standard single-letter abbreviation for cytosine in genetic sequences.
• Pyrimidine base (n): A broader category of nitrogenous bases to which cytosine belongs.

Related Phrases and Compounds

• Cytosine-guanine pair (C-G pair) (n): The specific pairing between cytosine and guanine in a DNA double helix.
  • The stability of a DNA region depends on the number of cytosine-guanine pairs.
• Cytosine deamination (n): A chemical reaction in which cytosine is converted to uracil, which can lead to a mutation if not repaired.
  • Cytosine deamination is a common type of DNA damage.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a base found in DNA and RNA and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with guanine

Từ đồng nghĩa

• c