Deoxyribonucleotide

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A molecule consisting of a nitrogenous base, a deoxyribose sugar, and one or more phosphate groups that forms the building blocks of DNA; an essential unit for genetic coding and transmission; involved in molecular biology and genetics processes
2. A chemical compound made up of a phosphate group, a five-carbon sugar lacking one oxygen atom, and a nitrogenous base that combines to create DNA strands; fundamental in storing and conveying genetic information; found in cellular nuclei and genetic material
3. A structural component of DNA comprising a phosphate group attached to deoxyribose sugar and a nitrogenous base, serving as the monomeric unit for DNA polymer formation; crucial for heredity and gene expression; studied in biochemistry and molecular genetics

Etymology: "Deoxyribonucleotide" is a technical coinage built from familiar parts, and its history is one of chemical naming rather than a long folk journey. "Nucleotide" was formed from "nucleus" and the suffix "-ide," a chemical ending, because these molecules were first isolated from cell nuclei. "Ribose" is the sugar found in RNA, and the prefix "deoxy-" means the sugar has lost one oxygen atom compared with ribose, a change that distinguishes the sugar in DNA. Put together, the word names a nucleotide containing deoxyribose, the building block of DNA. Its parts were assembled by chemists and biochemists in the early twentieth century, as the structure of these molecules was being worked out, so the word is a modern scientific coinage rather than an ancient one.

Synonyms: DNA nucleotide, deoxyribonucleoside phosphate