nucleotide

Thân thiện

A student examines a model of a DNA double helix showing its nucleotide components.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A phosphoric ester of a nucleoside: A nucleotide is an organic molecule consisting of a nucleoside (a nitrogenous base attached to a sugar) linked to a phosphate group.
   • The basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA): Nucleotides are the monomeric building blocks that polymerize to form the long chains of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a crucial nucleotide that stores and transfers energy within cells.
  • The sequence of nucleotides in a DNA molecule encodes genetic information.
  • RNA polymerase catalyzes the formation of phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides during transcription.

Advanced Usage

• "Nucleotide sequence": The specific order of nucleotides (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, or uracil) in a DNA or RNA strand.
  • Scientists analyzed the nucleotide sequence of the viral genome.
• "Nucleotide excision repair": A DNA repair mechanism where a segment of a DNA strand containing a damaged nucleotide is removed and replaced.
  • Defects in nucleotide excision repair can lead to diseases like xeroderma pigmentosum.

Variants and Related Words

• Nucleoside (n): A compound consisting of a nitrogenous base (purine or pyrimidine) linked to a sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), but lacking the phosphate group found in a nucleotide.
  • Cytidine is a nucleoside composed of cytosine and ribose.
• Oligonucleotide (n): A short polymer of nucleotides, typically used in molecular biology research and techniques.
  • Primers for PCR are synthetic oligonucleotides.

Synonyms

• Monomer (for nucleic acids): A molecule that can bind to other identical molecules to form a polymer. (Note: This is a broader, contextual synonym.)
• Unit (structural unit): Referring to its role as the fundamental building block.

Related Phrases and Compounds

• Nucleotide base / Nitrogenous base: The part of a nucleotide (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, uracil) that participates in base pairing.
  • The mutation was a change in a single nucleotide base.
• Nucleotide polymorphism: A variation in a single nucleotide at a specific position in the genome.
  • Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are common genetic variations.

Related Concepts

• Purine nucleotide: A nucleotide containing a purine base (adenine or guanine).
• Pyrimidine nucleotide: A nucleotide containing a pyrimidine base (cytosine, thymine, or uracil).
• Deoxyribonucleotide: A nucleotide that is a building block of DNA, containing the sugar deoxyribose.
• Ribonucleotide: A nucleotide that is a building block of RNA, containing the sugar ribose.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)

Từ đồng nghĩa

• base