nucleoside

Base plus sugar

A nucleoside is a compound consisting of a sugar molecule bonded to a nitrogenous base—one of the building blocks of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA.

Add a phosphate group to a nucleoside and you get a nucleotide.

The distinction matters in biochemistry and pharmacology, where nucleoside analogs serve as antiviral drugs.

structure

thymidine

Thymine-containing DNA nucleoside

purineTwo-fused-ring nitrogenous base
pyrimidineHeterocyclic aromatic nitrogen compound
ribosePentose in nucleotides

deoxyribose · base · sugar · bond · adenine · guanine · cytosine · thymine · uracil · pentose

genetics

DNA

Hereditary code molecule

RNAGene expression molecule
replicationAct of duplicating precisely
transcriptionWritten version of speech

polymerase · genome · codon · sequencing · template · primer · elongation · incorporation · fidelity · mutagenesis

therapeutics

antiviral

Agent blocking viral spread

acyclovirAntiviral herpes medication
remdesivirAntiviral medication for COVID-19
HIVAIDS-causing retrovirus

analog · chemotherapy · anticancer · immunosuppressant · inhibitor

metabolism

phosphorylation

Phosphate group attachment process

kinasePhosphate-transferring enzyme
biosynthesisLiving production of molecules
pathwayDesignated route for travel

enzymatic · salvage · catabolism · deamination · methylation · ATP · GTP · precursor · cofactor · intermediates

Categories

biochemistryenzymes, proteins, biochemistry, protein, enzyme
glycosidesglucoside, glycosides, cardiac glycoside
RNA biologymRNA, tRNA, codon, anticodon, ribosome
Nucleotidesadenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine, uracil

Opposites

molecular structure type

nucleosideamino acid

Protein's molecular subunit

lipid · carbohydrate · free base

phosphorylation state

nucleosidenucleotide

Genetic code subunit

Family

nuclear, nucleus, nucleotide, nucleic, adenosine, nucleotides, nucleic acid

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