Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Uracil (/ ˈ j ʊər ə s ɪ l /) (symbol U or Ura) is one of the four nucleotide bases in the nucleic acid RNA. The others are adenine (A), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). In RNA, uracil binds to adenine via two hydrogen bonds. In DNA, the uracil nucleobase is replaced by thymine (T). Uracil is a demethylated form of thymine.
Thymine and uracil are distinguished by merely the presence or absence of a methyl group on the fifth carbon (C5) of these heterocyclic six-membered rings. [2] [page needed] In addition, some viruses have aminoadenine (Z) instead of adenine. It differs in having an extra amine group, creating a more stable bond to thymine. [3]
As its alternate name (5-methyluracil) suggests, thymine may be derived by methylation of uracil at the 5th carbon. In RNA, thymine is replaced with uracil in most cases. In DNA, thymine (T) binds to adenine (A) via two hydrogen bonds, thereby stabilizing the nucleic acid structures.
Cytosine, thymine, and uracil are pyrimidines, hence the glycosidic bonds form between their 1 nitrogen and the 1' -OH of the deoxyribose. For both the purine and pyrimidine bases, the phosphate group forms a bond with the deoxyribose sugar through an ester bond between one of its negatively charged oxygen groups and the 5' -OH of the sugar. [2]
The bases found in RNA and DNA are: adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil. Thymine occurs only in DNA and uracil only in RNA. Using amino acids and protein synthesis, [2] the specific sequence in DNA of these nucleobase-pairs helps to keep and send coded instructions as genes. In RNA, base-pair sequencing helps to make new proteins ...
[2] Both types of pentoses in DNA and RNA are in their β-furanose (closed five-membered ring) form and they define the identity of a nucleic acid. DNA is defined by containing 2'-deoxy-ribose nucleic acid while RNA is defined by containing ribose nucleic acid. [1] In some occasions, DNA and RNA may contain some minor bases.
Thus, when using a template strand of DNA to build RNA, thymine is replaced with uracil. This substitution allows the mRNA to carry the appropriate genetic information from DNA to the ribosome for translation. Regarding the natural history, uracil came first then thymine; evidence suggests that RNA came before DNA in evolution. [1]
A diagram of DNA base pairing, demonstrating the basis for Chargaff's rules. Chargaff's rules (given by Erwin Chargaff) state that in the DNA of any species and any organism, the amount of guanine should be equal to the amount of cytosine and the amount of adenine should be equal to the amount of thymine.