Birgid Schlindwein'sHypermedia Glossary Of Genetic TermsSearch Results |
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| Primer | Short preexisting single-stranded polynucleotide chain to which new deoxyribonucleotides can be added by DNA polymerase. It anneals to a nucleic acid template and promotes copying of the template starting from the primer site. |
| 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. |
| DNA polymerase | Enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of nucleic acids on preexisting nucleic acid templates, assembling DNA from deoxyribonucleotides. Cf. RNA polymerase. |
| Nucleic acid | A large molecule composed of nucleotide subunits. |