iG3_02_09

Structure of a nucleoside triphosphate
(= nucleotide)

      In a nucleotide, the base is attached to the 1'-C of the sugar, and the inorganic phosphate to the 5'-C. The pentose (5-carbon) sugar on the left and in the middle is identifiable as a deoxyribose by the absence of an -O- from the hydroxyl group on the 2'-C, as compared with the RNA nucleotide at right.


Figure © 2012 TA Brown, Introduction to Genetics (1st ed.); additional text © 2024 by Steven M. Carr