guanine

American  

[gwah-neen] / ˈgwɑ nin /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. a purine base, C 5 H 5 N 5 O, that is a fundamental constituent of DNA and RNA, in which it forms base pairs with cytosine. G

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guanine British  

/ ˈɡuːəˌniːn, ˈɡwɑːniːn /

noun

1. a white almost insoluble compound: one of the purine bases in nucleic acids. Formula: C 5 H 5 N 5 O

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guanine Scientific  

/ gwä′nēn′ /

1. A purine base that is a component of DNA and RNA, forming a base pair with cytosine. It also occurs in guano, fish scales, sugar beets, and other natural materials. Chemical formula: C ₅ H ₅ ON ₅ .

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Etymology

Origin of guanine

guan(o) + -ine ²

Example Sentences

Guanine became adenine, for instance; cytosine became thymine.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2020

DNA is a code, a language with only four letters – A, T, C, G, for the bases Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine – and he cleverly exploits this with telling linguistic analogies.

From The Guardian • Mar. 27, 2013

Guanine is the chief constituent of the excrement of spiders, and is found also in Peruvian guano.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred