adenine

ad·e·nine | \ ˈa-də-ˌnēn

How to pronounce adenine (audio)

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Definition of adenine

: a purine base C₅H₅N₅ that codes hereditary information in the genetic code in DNA and RNA — compare cytosine, guanine, thymine, uracil

Examples of adenine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web One serves as a template, laying down sequences of the four bases that make up DNA molecules: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C). — Lydia Denworth, Scientific American, "A Breakthrough in Genetic Medicine for Rare Diseases," 3 Mar. 2020 Part of this gene contains repeated segments for three of the letters of the DNA code—cytosine, adenine and guanine, which are known as CAG repeats. — Bret Stetka, Scientific American, "Antisense Drugs for Huntington’s, ALS and Prion Diseases Could Meet the Dire Need for Brain Treatments," 15 Aug. 2019 However, rather than the conventional duo of base pairs, adenine and uracil or cytosine and guanine, the molecules form hexamers, or six-membered rings. — Quanta Magazine, "Chemists Seek Possible Precursor to RNA," 5 Feb. 2014 In 1953, scientists proposed that DNA is structured as a double helix, with the chemical bases—adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T)—stacked up in pairs between two intertwining lengths of sugar and phosphate. — Ryan Rossotto, National Geographic, "DNA, explained," 12 June 2019 Tobacco Doctors already knew that tobacco could cause cancer, but Alexandrov’s work showed how—by preferentially mutating certain bases (such as cytosine) into others (adenine). — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "One Guy With a Supercomputer Who's Chasing the Causes of Cancer," 19 Mar. 2018 The bases are often referred to as A, C, G and T, the initials of their full chemical names, adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. — The Economist, "BiotechnologyGene editing takes another step forward," 26 Oct. 2017 The enzyme needed is an adenine deaminase that works on DNA. — The Economist, "BiotechnologyGene editing takes another step forward," 26 Oct. 2017 Harmful herbs AAs spur cancers almost exclusively by inducing adenine-to-thymine (A-to-T) mutations in DNA. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Herbal remedies embraced by naturopaths, alt med widely linked to liver cancers," 18 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adenine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

16 Mar 2020

Cite this Entry

“Adenine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adenine. Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.

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