Ch.17 Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis

Timberlake - Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry 14th Edition

Timberlake14th EditionChemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological ChemistryISBN: 9781292472249Not the one you use?Change textbook

Timberlake 14th Edition

Ch.17 Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis

Problem 95b

Chapter 17, Problem 95b

Identify the base and sugar in each of the following nucleosides:
c. cytidine

Verified step by step guidance

Identify the structure of the nucleoside cytidine. A nucleoside consists of a nitrogenous base attached to a sugar molecule via a glycosidic bond.

Determine the nitrogenous base in cytidine. The name 'cytidine' indicates that the base is cytosine, which is a pyrimidine base characterized by a single-ring structure with nitrogen and oxygen atoms.

Determine the sugar in cytidine. Nucleosides are composed of either ribose (in RNA) or deoxyribose (in DNA). Since cytidine is typically found in RNA, the sugar is ribose, a five-carbon sugar with hydroxyl (-OH) groups on the 2', 3', and 5' carbons.

Combine the base and sugar. In cytidine, the cytosine base is attached to the 1' carbon of ribose via a β-N-glycosidic bond.

Summarize the components: The base in cytidine is cytosine, and the sugar is ribose.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Nucleosides

Nucleosides are organic molecules that consist of a nitrogenous base attached to a sugar molecule. They are the building blocks of nucleotides, which are essential for forming nucleic acids like DNA and RNA. In nucleosides, the sugar can be either ribose (in RNA) or deoxyribose (in DNA), and the base can be one of the five standard bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, or uracil.

Cytidine

Cytidine is a specific nucleoside composed of the nitrogenous base cytosine and the sugar ribose. It plays a crucial role in the synthesis of RNA, where it pairs with guanine during base pairing. Understanding cytidine's structure helps in recognizing its function in genetic coding and cellular processes.

Base and Sugar Identification

Identifying the base and sugar in nucleosides involves recognizing the components that make up the nucleoside structure. The base is the nitrogen-containing part (like cytosine in cytidine), while the sugar is the pentose sugar (ribose in this case). This distinction is vital for understanding nucleic acid structure and function in biological systems.

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