BSC 2010C Lecture 1: Bio notes 246 - Nucleosides

• School: UCF
• Department: Biology
• Course: BSC 2010C

Document Summary

Nucleosides are organic molecules composed of a nitrogenous base, either a purine or a pyrimidine, and a five-carbon sugar called ribose or deoxyribose. Nucleosides can be found in various parts of the body, such as the bloodstream, the brain, and other organs. They serve as building blocks for the nucleic acids, Dna and rna, which are the genetic material of living organisms. There are four nucleosides that can be found in dna: adenosine, guanosine, cytidine, and thymidine. Rna contains three of these nucleosides - adenosine, guanosine, and cytidine - and a fourth nucleoside, uridine, which replaces thymidine. The structure of a nucleoside is important for understanding the function and structure of nucleic acids. The nitrogenous base of a nucleoside can be either a purine or a pyrimidine. Purines consist of a six- membered ring fused to a five-membered ring, while pyrimidines consist of only a six-membered ring.