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Cytosine (/ ˈ s aɪ t ə ˌ s iː n,-ˌ z iː n,-ˌ s ɪ n / [2] [3]) (symbol C or Cyt) is one of the four nucleotide bases found in DNA and RNA, along with adenine, guanine, and thymine (uracil in RNA). It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached (an amine group at position 4 and a keto group ...
Watson-Crick base pairs in a siRNA.Hydrogen atoms are not shown. Each nucleotide in RNA contains a ribose sugar, with carbons numbered 1' through 5'. A base is attached to the 1' position, in general, adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or uracil (U).
Methylated forms of the major bases are most common in DNA. In viral DNA, some bases may be hydroxymethylated or glucosylated. In RNA, minor or modified bases occur more frequently. Some examples include hypoxanthine, dihydrouracil, methylated forms of uracil, cytosine, and guanine, as well as modified nucleoside pseudouridine. [3]
Five nucleobases—adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), thymine (T), and uracil (U)—are called primary or canonical. They function as the fundamental units of the genetic code, with the bases A, G, C, and T being found in DNA while A, G, C, and U are found in RNA. Thymine and uracil are distinguished by merely the presence or absence of a ...
Well-studied biological nucleic acid molecules range in size from 21 nucleotides (small interfering RNA) to large chromosomes (human chromosome 1 is a single molecule that contains 247 million base pairs [18]). In most cases, naturally occurring DNA molecules are double-stranded and RNA molecules are single-stranded. [19]
For one example, cytosine methylation produces 5-methylcytosine, which is important for X-inactivation of chromosomes. [76] The average level of methylation varies between organisms—the worm Caenorhabditis elegans lacks cytosine methylation, while vertebrates have higher levels, with up to 1% of their DNA containing 5-methylcytosine. [ 77 ]
The single-stranded nature of RNA, together with tendency for rapid breakdown and a lack of repair systems means that RNA is not so well suited for the long-term storage of genetic information as is DNA. In addition, RNA is a single-stranded polymer that can, like proteins, fold into a very large number of three-dimensional structures.
An example of RNA secondary structure. This image includes several structural elements, including; single-stranded and double-stranded areas, bulges, internal loops and hairpin loops. Double-stranded RNA forms an A-type helical structure, unlike the common B-type conformation taken by double-stranded DNA molecules.