nucleic acid
English
editEtymology
editnucleic + acid; named for the fact that in eukaryotes, some of the important actions of such acids are especially associated with the nucleus of the cell.
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /njuːˈkliː.ɪk ˈæsɪd/, /njuːˈkleɪ.ɪk ˈæsɪd/
- (US) IPA(key): /nuˈkleɪ.ɪk ˈæsɪd/
Audio (US): (file)
Noun
editnucleic acid (countable and uncountable, plural nucleic acids)
- (biochemistry, genetics) Any acidic, chainlike biological macromolecule consisting of multiple repeat units of phosphoric acid, sugar and purine and pyrimidine bases; they are involved in the preservation, replication and expression of hereditary information in every living cell
Derived terms
editDerived terms
- nucleic acid analogue (XNA)
- bridged nucleic acid (BNA)
- deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
- glycol nucleic acid (GNA)
- locked nucleic acid (LNA)
- peptide nucleic acid (PNA)
- ribonucleic acid (RNA)
- spherical nucleic acid (SNA)
- threonucleic acid (TNA)
- threose nucleic acid (TNA)
- unlocked nucleic acid (UNA)
- xeno nucleic acid (XNA)
Translations
editacidic chainlike biological macromolecule
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