Deoxyribonucleotide

Deoxyribonucleotide is a monomer, or single unit, of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. It is composed of a nitrogenous base, a deoxyribose sugar, and a phosphate group. The nitrogenous base can be one of four types: adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine.

Structure

A deoxyribonucleotide is made up of three components: a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. The deoxyribose sugar is a five-carbon sugar molecule that is the backbone of the DNA molecule. The phosphate group is attached to the 5' carbon of the sugar molecule and is involved in forming the phosphodiester bond that links the deoxyribonucleotides together to form the DNA strand. The nitrogenous base is attached to the 1' carbon of the sugar molecule and can be one of four types: adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine.

Function

Deoxyribonucleotides function as the building blocks of DNA. They are linked together by phosphodiester bonds to form a polynucleotide chain, with the phosphate group of one deoxyribonucleotide bonded to the 3' carbon of the sugar molecule of the next deoxyribonucleotide. This forms the backbone of the DNA molecule, with the nitrogenous bases sticking out from the backbone and available to form hydrogen bonds with the nitrogenous bases of a complementary DNA strand.

Synthesis

Deoxyribonucleotides are synthesized in the cell nucleus during the S phase of the cell cycle, when DNA replication occurs. The synthesis of deoxyribonucleotides is regulated by the enzyme ribonucleotide reductase, which converts ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides.

See also

• Nucleotide
• DNA replication
• Cell cycle

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