Nucleotides

Definition

Nucleotides are the basic building blocks of DNA and RNA. They consist of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Related terms

Deoxyribose: This is the sugar found in DNA nucleotides. It's called 'deoxyribose' because it's missing an oxygen atom compared to regular ribose.

Phosphate Group:

This is part of every nucleotide. It acts like glue, connecting one nucleotide to another in the DNA or RNA strand.

Nitrogenous Base: This is the part of the nucleotide that varies between different types. There are four types in DNA (adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine) and four in RNA (adenine, uracil, cytosine, guanine).