NUCLEINIC BASE Meaning and
Definition
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A nucleinic base, also known as a nitrogenous base, is a fundamental component of nucleotides, which are the building blocks of nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA. It refers to a class of organic compounds that play a crucial role in storing, transmitting, and expressing genetic information. Nucleinic bases are comprised of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms, and they are classified into two main categories: purines and pyrimidines.
Purines are double-ringed structures composed of adenine (A) and guanine (G). Adenine is one of the four nucleotides found in DNA and RNA, and it pairs with thymine (in DNA) or uracil (in RNA). Guanine is another nucleotide found in both DNA and RNA, and it forms a base pair with cytosine.
Pyrimidines, on the other hand, are single-ringed structures and include thymine (in DNA only), cytosine, and uracil (in RNA only). Cytosine pairs with guanine in both DNA and RNA, while thymine only pairs with adenine in DNA and uracil only pairs with adenine in RNA.
Nucleinic bases are essential for the formation of DNA's double helix structure and the complementary base pairing between DNA strands, which enables accurate replication and transmission of genetic information. They also play a crucial role in the synthesis of proteins through the transcription and translation processes. The specific arrangement and sequence of nucleinic bases within a nucleotide sequence determine an organism's genetic code and the expression of its traits.
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A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
Common Misspellings for NUCLEINIC BASE
- bucleinic base
- mucleinic base
- jucleinic base
- hucleinic base
- nycleinic base
- nhcleinic base
- njcleinic base
- nicleinic base
- n8cleinic base
- n7cleinic base
- nuxleinic base
- nuvleinic base
- nufleinic base
- nudleinic base
- nuckeinic base
- nucpeinic base
- nucoeinic base
- nuclwinic base
- nuclsinic base
- nucldinic base
Etymology of NUCLEINIC BASE
The word "nucleinic" is derived from "nuclein", which was a term coined by Friedrich Miescher in 1869 to describe the substance he discovered in the nuclei of white blood cells. Later it was discovered that nuclein is composed of two main components: nucleic acids and proteins.
The term "nucleic" comes from the Latin word "nucleus", meaning kernel or core, referring to the fact that nucleic acids are found in the nucleus of cells. Nucleic acids are responsible for carrying genetic information and involved in cellular processes.
The word "base" in "nucleinic base" refers to the nitrogenous bases found in nucleic acids. These bases are adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), cytosine (C) in DNA, and uracil (U) instead of thymine in RNA.
