Nucleotide
A nucleotide is a chemical compound that consists of a heterocyclic base, a sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. In the most common nucleotides the base is a derivative of purine or pyrimidine, and the sugar is the pentose (five-carbon sugar) deoxyribose or ribose.
Nucleotides are the structural units of RNA, DNA, and several cofactors - CoA, FAD, FMN, NAD, and NADP. In the cell they play important roles in energy production, metabolism, and signaling.
The chemical structure of nucleotides
Nomenclature
Nucleotide names are abbreviated into standard three- or four-letter codes. The first letter is lower case and indicates whether the Nucleotide in question is a deoxyribonucleotide (denoted by a d) or a ribonucleotide (no letter). The second letter indicates the nucleoside corresponding to the nucleobase:
- G: Guanine
- A: Adenine
- T: Thymine
- C: Cytosine
- U: Uracil not present in DNA, but takes the place of Thymine in RNA
The third and fourth letters indicate the length of the attached phosphate chain (Mono-, Di-, Tri-) and the presence of a phosphate (P).
Thus, for example, deoxy-cytidine-triphosphate is abbreviated as dCTP.
Nucleotides encode genetic information
Nucleotides function in cell metabolism
ATP is the universal energy currency of the cell
Several nucleotides function as coenzymes
Nucleotides also play a role in regulation of metabolism
Chemical structures
Nucleotides
 Adenosine monophosphate AMP |
 Adenosine diphosphate ADP |
Adenosine triphosphate ATP |
 Guanosine monophosphate GMP |
 Guanosine diphosphate GDP |
 Guanosine triphosphate GTP |
 Thymidine monophosphate TMP |
 Thymidine diphosphate TDP |
 Thymidine triphosphate TTP |
 Uridine monophosphate UMP |
 Uridine diphosphate UDP |
 Uridine triphosphate UTP |
 Cytidine monophosphate CMP |
 Cytidine diphosphate CDP |
 Cytidine triphosphate CTP |
Deoxynucleotides
 Deoxyadenosine monophosphate dAMP |
 Deoxyadenosine diphosphate dADP |
 Deoxyadenosine triphosphate dATP |
 Deoxyguanosine monophosphate dGMP |
 Deoxyguanosine diphosphate dGDP |
 Deoxyguanosine triphosphate dGTP |
 Deoxythymidine monophosphate dTMP |
 Deoxythymidine diphosphate dTDP |
 Deoxythymidine triphosphate dTTP |
 Deoxyuridine monophosphate dUMP |
 Deoxyuridine diphosphate dUDP |
 Deoxyuridine triphosphate dUTP |
 Deoxycytidine monophosphate dCMP |
 Deoxycytidine diphosphate dCDP |
 Deoxycytidine triphosphate dCTP |
| Code | Equivalence | Complement |
|---|---|---|
| A | A | T or U |
| C | C | G |
| G | G | C |
| T or U | T | A |
| M | A or C | K |
| R | A or G | Y |
| W | A or T | W |
| S | C or G | S |
| Y | C or T | R |
| K | G or T | M |
| V | A or C or G | B |
| H | A or C or T | D |
| D | A or G or T | H |
| B | C or G or T | V |
| X or N | A or C or G or T | X |
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Stryer, Lubert. 1995. Biochemistry, 4th edition. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.
External links
- Abbreviations and Symbols for Nucleic Acids, Polynucleotides and their Constituents (IUPAC)
- Provisional Recommendations 2004 (IUPAC)
| Nucleic acids edit |
|---|
| Nucleobases: Adenine - Thymine - Uracil - Guanine - Cytosine - Purine - Pyrimidine |
| Nucleosides: Adenosine - Uridine - Guanosine - Cytidine - Deoxyadenosine - Thymidine - Deoxyguanosine - Deoxycytidine |
| Nucleotides: AMP - UMP - GMP - CMP - ADP - UDP - GDP - CDP - ATP - UTP - GTP - CTP - cAMP - cGMP |
| Deoxynucleotides: dAMP - dTMP - dUMP - dGMP - dCMP - dADP - dTDP - dUDP - dGDP - dCDP - dATP - dTTP - dUTP - dGTP - dCTP |
| Nucleic acids: DNA - RNA - LNA - PNA - mRNA - ncRNA - miRNA - rRNA - siRNA - tRNA - mtDNA - Oligonucleotide |
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