Deoxyribonucleotide

Deoxyribonucleotide (pronounced: dee-ox-ee-rye-boh-noo-klee-oh-tide) is a monomer, or single unit, of DNA, which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid.

Etymology

The term "deoxyribonucleotide" is derived from the Greek words "deoxyribose" and "nucleotide". "Deoxyribose" is a sugar derived from ribose by replacing a hydroxyl group with hydrogen, while "nucleotide" is a compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group.

Definition

A deoxyribonucleotide is composed of three parts: a nitrogenous base, a deoxyribose sugar, and one phosphate group. The nitrogenous base can be adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or thymine (T). The deoxyribose sugar is a five-carbon sugar molecule, and the phosphate group is a molecule containing the mineral phosphorus.

Function

Deoxyribonucleotides are the building blocks of DNA. They are linked together by phosphodiester bonds to form a polynucleotide chain, which is a key component of the DNA double helix. The sequence of deoxyribonucleotides in a DNA molecule encodes the genetic information of an organism.

Related Terms

Nucleotide: A compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids such as DNA.
Ribonucleotide: A nucleotide containing ribose as its sugar component. It is one of the building blocks of RNA (ribonucleic acid).
Phosphodiester bond: A chemical bond of the kind joining successive sugar molecules in a polynucleotide.

External links

Medical encyclopedia article on Deoxyribonucleotide
Wikipedia's article - Deoxyribonucleotide

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Deoxyribonucleotide