adenine

American  

[ad-n-in, -een, -ahyn] / ˈæd n ɪn, -ˌin, -ˌaɪn /

noun

1. Biochemistry. a purine base, C 5 H 5 N 5 , one of the fundamental components of nucleic acids, as DNA, in which it forms a base pair with thymine, and RNA, in which it pairs with uracil. A

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adenine British  

/ -ˌnaɪn, -ˌniːn, ˈædənɪn /

noun

1. a purine base present in tissues of all living organisms as a constituent of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA and of certain coenzymes; 6-aminopurine. Formula: C 5 H 5 N 5 ; melting pt: 360–365°C

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adenine Scientific  

/ ăd′n-ēn′ /

1. A purine base that is a component of DNA and RNA, forming a base pair with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA. Adenine is also part of other biologically important compounds, such as ATP, NAD, and vitamin B-12, and occurs in tea. Chemical formula: C ₅ H ₅ N ₅ .

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Etymology

Origin of adenine

1880–85; < German Adenin; see aden-, -ine ²

Compare meaning

How does adenine compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• adenine vs. adenosine

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

adenine

Importantly they also discovered all five nitrogenous bases — adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil — that are necessary to build DNA and RNA.

From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2025

These include 14 of the 20 amino acids that life on Earth uses to build proteins and all four of the ring-shaped molecules that make up DNA - adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2025

Nucleotides are composed of three distinctive parts: a sugar molecule, a phosphate group and one of the four nucleobases adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2024

It isn’t known to produce the other two, adenine and guanine, although Sasselov says there’s a “big push” to search for RAO reactions that could do it.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 13, 2023

Also pleasing was the great accuracy of the data, which illustrated better than any previous analytical work the equality of adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson