nucleotides

Definition: A subunit of DNA or RNA consisting of a nitrogenous base (purine in adenine and guanine, pyrimidine in thymine, or cytosine for DNA and uracil cytosine for RNA), a phosphate molecule, and a sugar molecule (deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA).

Individual nucleosides are made by attaching a nucleobase to a ribose sugar. These bases are heterocyclic rings containing nitrogen, classified as purines or pyrimidines. Nucleotides also act as coenzymes in metabolic group transfer reactions.

Depending on the sugar the nucleotides are called deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides. Thousands of nucleotides are linked to form a DNA or RNA molecule.

The polymers DNA and RNA are long chains of nucleotides. These molecules are critical for the storage and use of genetic information, through the processes of transcription and protein biosynthesis.

This information is protected by DNA repair mechanisms and propagated through DNA replication. A few viruses have an RNA genome, for example HIV, which uses reverse transcription to create a DNA template from its viral RNA genome.

RNA in ribozymes such as spliceosomes and ribosomes is similar to enzymes as it can catalyze chemical reactions.

See also

 nucleotide metabolism
 base pair
 cyclic nucleotides
 nucleotide metabolism

• nucleotide biosynthesis (nucleotide biogenesis)
• nucleotide degradation