uracil

Thân thiện

A student points to a diagram of uracil in a textbook.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A nitrogen-containing base found in RNA: Uracil is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid RNA. It is a pyrimidine derivative and forms a base pair with adenine during RNA transcription and translation.
   • A specific organic compound: In biochemistry, uracil refers to the specific heterocyclic, aromatic organic compound with the formula C₄H₄N₂O₂.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • In RNA, uracil replaces thymine, which is found in DNA.
  • The scientist studied how uracil pairs with adenine in a strand of messenger RNA.
  • A point mutation can occur if cytosine is deaminated to uracil.

Advanced Usage

• "Uracil residue": Refers to a single uracil unit within an RNA chain.
  • The modification of a specific uracil residue can affect protein synthesis.
• "Uracil-DNA glycosylase": An enzyme that removes uracil from DNA, where it is not normally found, as part of DNA repair.
  • Uracil-DNA glycosylase is crucial for maintaining genomic integrity.

Variants and Related Words

• Uridine (n): The nucleoside formed when uracil is attached to a ribose sugar ring.
  • Uridine is a component of RNA.
• Deoxyuridine (n): A compound similar to uridine but with deoxyribose instead of ribose.

Synonyms

• Pyrimidine base: A broader category to which uracil belongs.
• RNA base: A functional description of its role.

Related Phrases

• Base pair: The partnership between two nucleobases (e.g., uracil-adenine).
  • The stability of an RNA helix depends on its base pairs.
• Nucleobase: The general term for the basic compounds that make up nucleic acids like RNA and DNA.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a base containing nitrogen that is found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine

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