nitrogen base

American  

Or nitrogenous base

noun

1. Chemistry, Biochemistry. a nitrogen-containing organic compound that has the chemical properties of a base, especially a pyrimidine or purine.

   Four nitrogen bases are present in a DNA molecule.

---

nitrogen base Scientific  

1. One of the nitrogen-containing purines (adenine or guanine) or pyrimidines (cytosine, thymine, or uracil) found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. The bases may be attached to a sugar (deoxyribose in DNA, ribose in RNA) to form nucleosides. The addition of a phosphate to a nucleoside results in the formation of a nucleotide, which is the basic constituent of nucleic acids.

---

Etymology

Origin of nitrogen base

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

After excessive flooding followed a drought in 2012, researchers at the University of Kansas noticed a nitrogen spike in surface waters in the area.

From Salon • May 22, 2022