Nucleotide
- Pronunciation
- /NOO-klee-tee-tide/
- Category
- Molecular Biology
- Singular
- Nucleotide
- Plural
- Nucleotides
Definition
A chemical consisting of a purine or pyrimidine base attached to a five-carbon sugar, with phosphate attached to the sugar. Nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and RNA.
Etymology
From Latin 'nucleus', meaning 'kernel' or 'center', and '-tide' from 'nucleoside', which itself combines 'nucleus' with the suffix '-ide'.
Example
Nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and RNA.