Birgid Schlindwein'sHypermedia Glossary Of Genetic TermsSearch Results |
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| Base sequence | The order of nucleotide bases in a DNA molecule. Length is usually defined as the number of base pairs. Cf. sequence, DNA sequence. |
| Nucleotide | A subunit of DNA or RNA consisting of a nitrogenous base (purine in adenine and guanine, pyrimidine in thymine, or cytosine for DNA and uracil cytosine for RNA), a phosphate molecule, and a sugar molecule (deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA). Depending on the sugar the nucleotides are called deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides. Thousands of nucleotides are linked to form a DNA or RNA molecule. See also base pair. |
| Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) | The molecule that encodes genetic information. DNA is a double-stranded molecule held together by weak bonds between base pairs of nucleotides. The four nucleotides in DNA contain the bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). In nature, base pairs form only between A and T and between G and C; thus the base sequence of each single strand can be deduced from that of its partner. |
| Base pair (bp) | Two nitrogenous (purine or pyrimidine) bases (adenine and thymine or guanine and cytosine) held together by weak hydrogen bonds. Two strands of DNA are held together in the shape of a double helix by the bonds between base pairs. The number of base pairs is often used as a measure of length of a DNA segment, eg 500 bp. |
| Sequence | Order of bases in DNA or RNA (base sequence)or of amino acids in a protein. |
| DNA sequence | The relative order of base pairs, whether in a fragment of DNA, a gene, a chromosome, or an entire genome. See base sequence. |