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Nucleic acid nomenclature
 
 
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Molecular biologists use several shorthand terms when referring to nucleic acid
Nucleic acid

A nucleic acid is a macromolecule composed of chains of monomeric nucleotides. In biochemistry these molecules carry genetic information or form structures within Cell ....
 molecules, such as DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 and RNA
RNA

Ribonucleic acid is a type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nucleobase, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate....
, collectively referred to as nucleic acid nomenclature.

The most common is the representation of the base pair
Base pair

In molecular biology, two nucleotides on opposite complementarity DNA or RNA strands that are connected via hydrogen bonds are called a base pair ....
s as letters—an adenine
Adenine

Adenine is a nucleobase with a variety of roles in biochemistry including cellular respiration, in the form of both the energy-rich adenosine triphosphate and the cofactor s nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide , and Protein biosynthesis, as a chemical component of DNA and RNA....
 nucleotide
Nucleotide

Nucleotides are molecules that comprise the structural units of RNA and DNA. Additionally, nucleotides play central roles in metabolism. In that capacity, they serve as sources of chemical energy , participate in cell signaling , and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions ....
 is abbreviated as A, guanine
Guanine

Guanine is one of the five main nucleobases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA, the others being adenine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil. In DNA, guanine is paired with cytosine....
 as G, cytosine
Cytosine

Cytosine is one of the five main bases found in DNA and RNA. It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached ....
 as C, thymine
Thymine

Thymine is one of the four bases in the nucleic acid of DNA that make up the letters GCAT. The others are adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Thymine always pairs with adenine....
 as T, and in RNA, uracil
Uracil

Uracil is a common and naturally occurring pyrimidine derivative. Originally discovered in 1900, it was isolated by hydrolysis of yeast nuclein that was found in bovine thymus and spleen, herring, sperm, and wheat germ....
 as U.

Additionally, the positions of the carbon
Carbon

Carbon is a chemical element with chemical symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalence?making four electrons available to form covalent bond chemical bonds....
s in the ribose
Ribose

Ribose, primarily occurring as D-ribose, is an organic compound that occurs widely in nature. It is an aldopentose, that is a monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms that, in its acyclic form, has an aldehyde functional group at one end....
 sugar that forms the backbone of the nucleic acid chain are numbered, and are used to indicate the direction of nucleic acids (5'->3' versus 3'->5'), see directionality
Directionality (molecular biology)

Directionality, in molecular biology, refers to the end-to-end chemical orientation of a single strand of nucleic acid. The chemical convention of naming carbon atoms in the nucleotide Furanose numerically gives rise to a 5' end and a 3' end ....
.








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Encyclopedia


Molecular biologists use several shorthand terms when referring to nucleic acid
Nucleic acid

A nucleic acid is a macromolecule composed of chains of monomeric nucleotides. In biochemistry these molecules carry genetic information or form structures within Cell ....
 molecules, such as DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 and RNA
RNA

Ribonucleic acid is a type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nucleobase, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate....
, collectively referred to as nucleic acid nomenclature.

The most common is the representation of the base pair
Base pair

In molecular biology, two nucleotides on opposite complementarity DNA or RNA strands that are connected via hydrogen bonds are called a base pair ....
s as letters—an adenine
Adenine

Adenine is a nucleobase with a variety of roles in biochemistry including cellular respiration, in the form of both the energy-rich adenosine triphosphate and the cofactor s nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide , and Protein biosynthesis, as a chemical component of DNA and RNA....
 nucleotide
Nucleotide

Nucleotides are molecules that comprise the structural units of RNA and DNA. Additionally, nucleotides play central roles in metabolism. In that capacity, they serve as sources of chemical energy , participate in cell signaling , and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions ....
 is abbreviated as A, guanine
Guanine

Guanine is one of the five main nucleobases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA, the others being adenine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil. In DNA, guanine is paired with cytosine....
 as G, cytosine
Cytosine

Cytosine is one of the five main bases found in DNA and RNA. It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached ....
 as C, thymine
Thymine

Thymine is one of the four bases in the nucleic acid of DNA that make up the letters GCAT. The others are adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Thymine always pairs with adenine....
 as T, and in RNA, uracil
Uracil

Uracil is a common and naturally occurring pyrimidine derivative. Originally discovered in 1900, it was isolated by hydrolysis of yeast nuclein that was found in bovine thymus and spleen, herring, sperm, and wheat germ....
 as U.

Additionally, the positions of the carbon
Carbon

Carbon is a chemical element with chemical symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalence?making four electrons available to form covalent bond chemical bonds....
s in the ribose
Ribose

Ribose, primarily occurring as D-ribose, is an organic compound that occurs widely in nature. It is an aldopentose, that is a monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms that, in its acyclic form, has an aldehyde functional group at one end....
 sugar that forms the backbone of the nucleic acid chain are numbered, and are used to indicate the direction of nucleic acids (5'->3' versus 3'->5'), see directionality
Directionality (molecular biology)

Directionality, in molecular biology, refers to the end-to-end chemical orientation of a single strand of nucleic acid. The chemical convention of naming carbon atoms in the nucleotide Furanose numerically gives rise to a 5' end and a 3' end ....
.

See also


  • DNA replication
    DNA replication

    DNA replication, the basis for heredity, is a fundamental process occurring in all living organisms to copy their DNA. This process is "semiconservative replication" in that each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template for the reproduction of the complementary strand....
  • Nucleotide
    Nucleotide

    Nucleotides are molecules that comprise the structural units of RNA and DNA. Additionally, nucleotides play central roles in metabolism. In that capacity, they serve as sources of chemical energy , participate in cell signaling , and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions ....